His Claim to Fame
by Andaer
Summary: Umaril the Unfeathered threatens Tamriel, but can one man's quest for justice transform him into the Divine Crusader? This tale is of Calvus, a mere Journeyman in the Fighters Guild and his claim to fame. WARNING: Knights of the Nine quest spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One- Rumours

The sun beamed down on the Ayleid ruin of Vilverin, just outside of the Imperial City. Thick bushes and vegetation surrounded the ancient structure, encasing all sorts of wildlife. Two bandits sat around a campfire adjacent to the dirty white ruin, not speaking. They both just looked at the fire, chucking the odd twig into the crimson flames. One of the bandits decided to break the silence.

"Screw this, I'm going to practice" the female Dunmer said.

Her Khajiit accomplice nodded slightly, still staring into the flames. The Dunmer took her bow off her back and notched an iron arrow. Her target: an apple balanced on top of a wooden crate. She pulled the string back and released. The arrow flew into the crate, just below the apple with a '_thunk_'.She notched another arrow and released the string. This arrow just grazed the apple, peeling it slightly. She then notched a third and fired. It flew straight past the apple and into some bushes nearby.

Now what she was expecting to hear was either a '_thunk_' of the arrow hitting a branch or a slight rustle in the leaves as the arrow brushed past them. But instead she heard a '_clang_' of the arrow hitting metal, followed by a whispered voice say '_Shit!_' Now this Dunmer wasn't the brightest soul gem in the drawer, but she knew that bushes didn't say '_Shit!_'. She also knew that they weren't normally made of metal. However, she didn't know that when armed with an unloaded bow that you should _never go over to the bush that just cursed and start poking round into it looking for the source of the noise_.

Her search uncovered a male Imperial in his late twenties, with long brown hair and brown eyes, clad in heavy steel armour and holding an unsheathed steel sword. His armour was covered in dirt and scratches from his hiding position. He also had a shield… with an arrow in it.

"What are you doing he-" The Dunmer said before her sentence was interrupted by the Imperials steel sword slicing through her cuirass and into her heart.

The Khajiit heard the sound of his fellow bandits demise and sprung into action, producing a steel mace from his side. The outlaw ran at the intruder and swung, but his blow was blocked by the Imperials shield. The arrow in it snapped with the blow. The Imperial spun round, sword gleaming in the midday sun. The Khajiit's head rolled to the floor a few seconds later.

The Imperial wiped his bloody sword on the fur cuirass of the ex-Khajiit, then knelt down and searched the body. He found what he was looking for: a silver ruby ring, engraved with a flowing script. He pocketed the ring, sheathed his sword and after taking a quick look round to check there were no other threats, started on the long journey back to Chorrol. The Imperial brushed his long brown hair out of his eyes and into a ponytail, just like he was used to. The man was a Journeyman in the Fighters Guild and had been for a few months now. His recent encounter had been his latest contract. The ring belonged to a member of the Galien family and he had been tracking that damn cat all over Cyrodiil to try and find it.

***

After about a week the Imperial arrived back at Chorrol. He could have done the journey in less than half the time if he had a horse, but he wasn't earning _that_ much just yet. He opened the door to the Fighters Guild hall and went inside. There was no-one there. That is, there was no-one there until a Dark Elf in iron armour leaped out from behind a tapestry and rugby tackled the man to the ground.

"Aha! GOTCHYA!!!" cried the Dark Elf as he pointed a steel dagger at the Imperials throat.

" Sir! Its me, Calvus, put the dagger down!!"

"Oh". Modryn Oreyn almost looked disappointed as he got up and sheathed the dagger. "Sorry Journeyman, I didn't think it was you. I was expecting somebody else…"

"Excuse me sir, but who were you expecting? The Gray Fox?"

"Well…yes actually, there have been things going missing around here."

"Sir, you will never cease to amaze me! I'm not wearing a cowl stolen from a Daedric Lord for a start!" said Calvus as he got up and dusted himself down.

"Well you never know, he may have been in disguise!"

At this point Calvus gave up on the conversation.

"I've completed the contract, here's the ring." he said.

He dropped the ring in Modryn's palm, who then held it up to the light to see if it was genuine.

"Here's your payment Journeyman, 200 gold." Modryn stated as if it was the end of the matter.

Calvus looked at the small bag of gold that was handed to him. "Is this it?" he said in disbelief. "I tracked that bloody bandit from Black Dog Camp to Fisherman's rock, then to Bruma, then Anvil, then Skingrad, then back to Bruma because he had forgotten something, then to Cheydinhal, then Skingrad again, I almost had him there, but some Goblins got in the way, then I finally went to that Aylied ruin, where I managed to finally get that damn ring…_and this is what I get???_"

Modryn looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

"Rather it was 100? It could be arranged."

"Oh…never mind…any more contracts while I'm here?" Calvus said as he pocketed the small bag.

Modryn went over to a large brown leather book sitting on the dining table that contained all the contracts for that month. He put on some thin spectacles that didn't really suit him and casually flipped through the pages. After a while he snapped the book shut.

"None. Sorry Journeyman, but we haven't got any. It's that damn Blackwood Company stealing all our work."

"Thanks anyway sir. I'm going to go downstairs to practise a bit if that's okay with you." Calvus said as he went over to the basement door.

"Why would I have a problem with you doing that?" asked the Dark Elf.

"Because last time I didn't tell you, you thought a thief had broken into our basement and deliberately vandalised our practising dummy!"

"They're very slippery characters, thieves…"

Calvus ignored his superior and went into the basement anyway. Once he got down there his heart leapt. Aranwen was down there. She was a beautiful Bosmer that he had a crush on since he joined. He slowly went down the stairs and watched her practice her archery against a helpless straw target. '_thunk, thunk, thunk!_' Three bull's-eyes. She was pretty damn good at using a bow that's for sure. She also had a pretty nice ars- Aim. Aranwen felt his presence and turned round.

"Oh, hi! Where've ya been?" she said cheerfully.

"Tracking a bandit half way round the world. Its times like that that you wish you were a mage and could teleport." Calvus said as he went up to the dummy and drew his sword.

"Tracking him? I'd have just shot him!" she replied as she knocked another arrow and fired.

'_thunk_'

Calvus struck the dummy a few times. The dummy rattled in the chains that kept it in place. Someone who had a sense of humour had carved a smiling face on the wooden head, just visible beneath the multitude of scratches in the woodwork.

"I would have shot him…if I could have found him first. He was very crafty."

'_thunk_'

"I can imagine…hey have you heard about the Blackwood Company? Their taking all our contracts!"

'_thunk_'

"Yup, Oreyn told me. Got nothing to do at all."

He struck the dummy a few more times. The wooden body shook with the blows.

'_thunk_'

"Kinda sucks doesn't it, not having anything to do?"

"Sure does…"

'_thunk_'

Calvus decided that this was the time. He took a deep breath.

"Aranwen, I was wondering. Do you want to come and have a drink with me at the Oak and Crosier…tonight?"

There was a clatter as her arrow fell to the ground, skittering across the cobbles of the basement.

"Sure…"

"About eight?"

"Yeah, I can make it"

"Its a…date"

She smiled at him. Although he continued practicing, inside Calvus' heart was leaping around his ribcage like a Scamp on skooma.

***

The door of the 'Oak and Crosier' banged shut in the night. Outside it a slightly tipsy Calvus walked through the streets, a giggling Aranwen on his arm.

" - and then she found me, hiding, in the bushes, an arrow in my shield, looking rather suspicious and what does she do? Challenges me! 'What are you doing here?' she said. Though she didn't quite finish the 'here' bit."

"And why was that?" Aranwen enquired with a small laugh.

"She died." Calvus answered, and Aranwen giggled again.

"I remember once," she said, "When I was an apprentice, I was contracted to deal with a mudcrab that had somehow crept into some woman's kitchen. This was in Anvil I think...anyway, I go in with an arrow strung, expecting a thing...this big."

Aranwen gestured with her hands, the alcohol making her stumble slightly.

"And I go into the kitchen, and there is the tiniest crab you have ever seen. It was barely bigger than my hand!"

"And you have small hands..." Calvus interjected.

"Shush!" exclaimed Aranwen, placing a finger on his lips. "Anyway, I shoot the thing, just to please the woman, who pays me fifty gold extra for making a quick job of it! I had never done anything so ridiculous!"

"Was she nobility?" Calvus asked.

"Probably..."

"That explains it then!" he said with a chuckle.

The pair were now outside the guild hall, illumiated by the latern that burned above the door. Calvus was about to climb the steps when Aranwen pulled him back down.

"Come here..." she said softly, and kissed him in the lamplight.

Calvus moved closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and her shoulders. After a few seconds she stopped and looked into his eyes for a moment.

"Night!" she said cheekily, before escaping his grasp and running indoors.

Calvus stood on the steps smiling to himself.

"My kind of girl..." he said as he entered the Guild hall.

***

Calvus was awoken at about eight in the morning to the sound of birds twittering on the great oak outside. However it was not the birds that awoke him, but the sound of 'WHO PUT THAT BLOODY CLAYMORE THERE? IT COULD HAVE SOMEONES EYE OUT!!!" That told him Modryn was awake. It was like the man never slept. _Well it could be the reason for the Dark Elf being so grumpy and paranoid_, Calvus thought as he put his shirt on. He went downstairs and sat down at the dining table. He ate some bread and drank some wine, made by the Surilie brothers no less. A fellow guild member called Andre sat opposite Calvus, the days Black Horse Courier in his hand.

"So what's going on in the world?" Calvus asked innocently.

The Breton had been engrossed in the paper, but after some time he slowly put it down on the table, a melancholy expression on his face.

"There's been a terrible attack on the Chapel in Anvil. All of Dibella's priests and priestesses murdered…" Andre replied solemnly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Fast Travel.

"You are sure of this?" Calvus asked the Breton.

"Read it for yourself." Andre replied.

He slowly passed the paper to Calvus, then sat back in his chair, still slightly shocked at the news. Calvus opened the paper, and started to read:

_The Chapel of Dibella in Anvil has been viciously attacked by an unknown force. Yesterday at noon, the town guards heard screams from inside the Chapel. But after forcing their way in, every person in the chapel was found dead, with no sign of the assailants. _

Calvus stopped reading, he needed to know no more. This news hurt him more than a sword stroke, for his father had been a priest of Dibella. Calvus' had spent his entire childhood learning about Dibella and her ways from his father, who was the best man Calvus had ever known. He had always supported Calvus, upheld and taught the Godesses' teachings to the letter, and his work for the Church helped many people, beggars and lords alike.

This desecration tore through Calvus' heart. Someone had attacked Dibella's chapel, the source of all of Calvus teachings and morals since childhood and this made him ache and burn. Burn fiercely. Calvus threw the paper down onto the table and got up from his chair. He walked silently and swiftly to the door, a fire flowing through his veins.

"Hey Calvus! Where are you going?" Andre called after him.

Calvus stopped at the door and half turned his head. "To Anvil." He replied with a grim face. "I'm going to find out who did this and bring them to justice. I cannot allow the attackers to get away with this. Yesterday I complained that I had nothing to do…now I have."

Calvus stepped outside and into the light morning rain, closing the guild hall door behind him. The weather matched his current mood. He passed some residents of Chorrol who mostly ignored him, he was Fighters Guild folk, and they only caused trouble. Well after this desecration of his fathers and his belief he would cause some bloody trouble indeed! Calvus walked out of the gates and started on the long road to Anvil.

If he was anything, Calvus was determined. His journey to the port city was uneventful, yet he did not care for his mind was on dwelling how he would deal with the attackers.

_Who could have done it? Necromancers?_, Calvus thought. _But they mostly keep to their caves and hideouts, and if anything would attack a Mages guild hall, not a chapel. The Dark Brotherhood? But they wouldn't dare attack a Chapel of all places in broad daylight. The Thieves Guild?…No chance, they don't kill…A Daedric Cult?…Maybe…_All Calvus knew that it would be a hard task to track these people down.

As that thought entered his mind, the port city of Anvil came into view. Its unique architecture made it one of the prettiest towns in Cyrodiil. The streets were wide, the buildings graceful and the docks busy. Although the most western town in the whole province, it did good business with other lands of Tamriel. _Thank goodness that journeys over_, Calvus thought as he strode through the stone gateway into the city.

The Chapel of Dibella towered over him as he walked through the grey cobbled streets, passing the worried residents of the town. They were all gathered on the streets, whispered conversations being spoken between them. They paid little attention to Calvus, who walked round to the main entrance of the Chapel. The doors were closed, guarded by an Altmer wearing an Anvil guards uniform. The High Elf had a rather distasteful look on his face, and Calvus could not work out why. However just as he was coming up to the doors of the Chapel the reason made itself known. There was a horrible smell of death wafting through the oak planks of the door.

"I wouldn't go in there unless you've got a strong stomach." The Guard warned Calvus. "Not many people have come out of there without throwing up."

"I've probably seen worse..." Calvus replied.

He quickly regretted his last statement as he opened the door to the Chapel.

Blood.

It covered the stone walls, the stained glass windows, the wooden seats, the stairs…and the alter of Dibella. The water that lay in the centre of the alter was dyed red by the body of one of the Chapels priestesses. Around the alter was a circle of runes written in her blood. Furniture was overturned and some of the great lamps that hung from the ceiling had fallen and smashed on the floor. This was too much for Calvus. Seeing those pale bodies and their lifeless expressions, accompanied with the shock and desecration of his and his fathers belief of the Divine proved too much for him.

He stumbled outside, ignoring the guards suspiciously smug "Told you so". Calvus managed to get to a bush and vomited behind it. After wiping his mouth and a few deep breaths he turned around, to be met with an elderly Imperial wearing tan robes and a rather disdainful expression on his face.

"I don't suppose you could have done that somewhere else?" the mysterious man enquired.

"If you had seen what I have seen then you would probably have done the same stranger." replied Calvus as made to walk away.

"You mean the Chapel, boy? Yes I have seen it, its disgrace to the Eight and One, and has been committed by a deadly foe of the Divine."

"Well I- wait a minute you know who did this?" Calvus asked as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"That I do, boy. Tell me, do you wish to deliver justice to those that committed this atrocity?"

Calvus turned and walked up to the man, studying him. The man had white hair, deep wrinkles in his skin and barely a shadow of a beard. He could be easily mistaken for any religious madman that occasionally took to the streets. Yet there was something about the man's eyes, something that told Calvus that he wasn't quite what he seemed. In turn the man studied Calvus, who felt slightly uncomfortable, as if the old man could see right through him, into his mind, his memories and his dreams.

"I was brought up to follow Dibella's ways. I came here from the other side of Cyrodiil to see for myself what had happened. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to avenge these people."

The man smiled, looked away in thought for a second, then turned back.

"Tell me boy, do you have any claim to fame, anything that makes your name known amongst individuals?"

Calvus thought for a minute. Well the answer was most certainly no, nobody knew who he was.

"I do not have a claim to fame." he said.

"Excellent!" The man replied. "Modesty is always a good start for what you are about to do. The thing that did this terrible act is known as 'Umaril the Unfeathered'. He is the enemy of all who walk free on Tamriel today, a survivor of the ancient race of Ayleid slave masters who once ruled Cyrodiil. He was struck down by Pelinal Whitestrake the famed 'Divine Crusader', but by his art Umaril had bound himself to the realm of his mistress, the Daedra Lord Meridia. So he was not slain, but instead simply cast adrift upon the waters of Oblivion. Now he has returned to seek vengeance upon the gods who helped bring about his downfall so many ages ago."

"I see." Calvus said.

"Before I continue I must know this." the man said with a stern tone. "Do you want to bring Umaril the Unfeathered to justice?"

"You want me to bring a powerful ancient Aylied prince to justice? As in kill him? I could never-"

"Listen closely! The only way he can be defeated permanently is by collecting the relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, the first Divine Crusader and attacking his stronghold, which is what you would have to do. In effect, you would become the second 'Divine Crusader', a servant and Knight of the Gods." the man finished.

"Are there any others that are trying to achieve this?" Calvus asked bewildered.

"Only one. His name is Sir Roderic, and though he has a good heart, his sword arm isn't what it once was. I have asked others, but they either do not care or are terrified at the prospect. But you...I can see greatness in you Calvus, I believe you have the skill and heart to do this."

"Did you say the same to Sir Roderic?" Calvus asked tactfully.

The man laughed.

"Nay, I did not. I warned him that this task may be too much for him, but he persisted. I believe you are the one to do this, driven to avenge Dibella..."

At that name Calvus thought of the carnage in the Chapel, and what other terrible things could happen if he did not act. His mind told him it would be dangerous, foolhardy and could end in his death. But his heart told him otherwise.

"Where do I find these relics?" Calvus asked with resolution.

"Ah, there is a catch there. You must first prove yourself worthy for the Gods before you can undertake this quest. In days of old, people who wanted to cleanse themselves of sin would go on a Pilgrimage to the wayshrines of the Gods in the wilderness. I see this as a fitting task for you to accomplish to prove yourself."

"Very well, I will go on this Pilgrimage to prove myself worthy!"

"Excellent! Take this map, for it shows wayshrines in the wilderness that you can visit and pray too"

The elderly man took a piece of rolled up parchment out of his robe and handed it to Calvus, who folded it and placed it in his pocket.

"Thank you…actually, what is your name?" he enquired.

"My name?" the man chuckled, "My name is not important, what is important is your determination in finishing what you have just begun. But if you must call me anything then call me 'The Prophet'."

"Okay thanks…Prophet. I will succeed, I promise." Calvus said.

"Don't promise me boy…promise yourself. May the Eight and One guide your footsteps in the days to come."

"And you." Calvus said as he walked away. _Well time to see if anything he was going on about is true_, he thought to himself. He took out the wayshrine map and studied it carefully. He thought it best to start at the first shrine he came across. Calvus strode confidently out of Anvil's gate starting on his long journey into the wilderness. It was only after he was well on his way that the thought occured to him:

_How in all Oblivion did he know my name?_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Pilgrimage

Several days had passed. Calvus' journey was long, as he had to trek through the dense forests of Cyrodiil. He spent most of the time avoiding bandits and killing the occasional aggressive rat. His journey had led him to the crossroads between the Yellow Road and Red Ring Road, where he saw a white circle of stone topped with pillars amongst the trees. As he got closer, he could feel a odd change in the atmosphere. This thing in the middle of nowhere had power, a divine power. He noticed that around the white stone, the grass was longer and a brighter green.

Calvus examined the ruin, where he found certain carved passages in the stone that told him this was a wayshrine of Julianos. He examined the Prophets map, and saw the word 'Julianos' scribbled roughly where he was standing. Now certain he could pray to the right God, Calvus knelt down and mumbled a small prayer to Julianos under his breath. As he got up, his mind felt more open and his magical ability, which was next to nothing, felt surprisingly stronger. He had learned a basic flare spell when he was a teenager, but whenever he attempted it, it flew about four foot and spluttered into nothing. It probably couldn't even light a candle. He decided to try casting the flare spell to see if the prayer had any effect. Calvus pointed his left hand towards a bush and said the words of the spell.

When he came back into consciousness he saw that there was nothing left of that bush. Or the tree that had been next to it. There was instead a small crater, with a pile of ash in the centre. The leaves on the neighbouring trees were blackened, and the foliage around him was smouldering. Calvus stared at the carnage open mouthed, then looked at his hand in disbelief. It had never done that before. He then snapped out of his shocked state, knowing that staring at this thing would not get him to more of the wayshrines, so he decided to move on. He looked at the map and got his bearings for his next visit, a shrine of Talos.

This journey took Calvus about half a day and when he reached the shrine, he was exhausted. Trekking over countryside in full steel armour was pretty tiring. The shrine was almost identical to Julianos' shrine, apart from a few fallen pillars. After inspecting the words carved into the white stone he knelt down by the shrine, and said a prayer to Talos. When Calvus got up, he felt different, not different like at Julianos' shrine, but another type of different. Then his religious experience was interrupted.

"Well well, what do we have here? Some religious bastard on a 'pilgrimage'?"

The Khajiit highwayman spat on Calvus. The outlaw was clad in a full set of mithril armour, scratched and blood stained. He had probably stolen it from a corpse.

"Your money or your life, God-loving pig." The highwayman grinned in a very cat like way as he took a large silver war axe off his back and pointed it at Calvus' throat.

Those last two words of the Khajiit's sentence hurt, especially since there was nothing Calvus could do with an axe pointed at his throat. But then he felt Talos' power from the shrine flow through him and realised…it was a blessing of strength. Quick as lightning he grabbed the highwayman's axe by the shaft and threw it over his head. What he didn't realise at first was that as he threw the axe over his head, the highwayman was still holding it, and as a consequence, flew up into the air with it.

"**!**"

The curse became quieter and quieter as the highwayman flew through the air. He soon went out of sight completely. Calvus could have sworn he heard a splash as looked at his hands in utter astonishment. _I will never doubt the Gods existence as long as I live_, he thought as he dusted his hands off and got his map out once more.

His journey to the other way shrines was rather similar to his previous experiences. This involved him praying at a shrine of Zenithar, then going to a nearby inn and winning a round of drinks off an Imperial Legion Soldier who challenged him to a game of cards. He also got to his next location pretty quickly after visiting a shrine of Akatosh. After spending the rest of the week trekking around Cyrodiil, Calvus arrived at his final destination. A wayshrine of Arkay.

He took a look around to see if there were any obvious threats. After seeing none, he knelt down and said a prayer to Arkay. It all went black.

Calvus woke up and he was falling from the sky, he started to scream at the top of his lungs. However, his scream ceased when he realised he wasn't actually falling, as he hadn't the felt the wind rushing past him, and more importantly, he wasn't a red stain on the ground, which was always good. He tapped his foot on the…air. He must have been one thousand, maybe even two thousand feet above the ground, The Imperial city looked rather small and miniature below him. Calvus decided that he shouldn't look down anymore, lest he die of a heart attack.

He decided to look straight ahead, and almost died of a heart attack anyway. Strolling towards him through the clouds was a ghostly figure, clad in beautifully decorated Knights armour, like nothing Calvus had ever seen before.

"Bloody hell." Calvus murmured to himself. As he did this, he felt himself fall a few feet. He made a mental note not to curse.

The figure got closer to him, stopped then said in a rather noble voice: "Your deeds of goodwill have awoken me from my endless dream. I am Pelinal Whitestrake, slayer of Umaril the Unfeathered…or at least I tried to be…"

"It…it is an honour…" Calvus, though still pale from shock, bowed before the figure in front of him.

"No doubt the Prophet has told you about my deeds. I thought I'd won. But I should have known. The Slavemasters are a cunning breed. Umaril found a way to cheat death, as I could not. You said you would fight him? "

"I did…sir." Calvus was still bowing at this point.

"Oh please stop grovelling, I can't bear it you know…"

"Sorry si-…sorry." Calvus stood up straight

The ghostly apparition appeared to sigh.

"I'm not sure if you noticed" he continued, "But there were runes written in blood around the central alter. Do you know what they translate as?"

"No…I didn't notice them…there was too much blood for me to stay in there long." Calvus replied.

"They translate as: '_By the power of Umaril, the mortal gods shall be cast down!'_"

"So this Umaril guy isn't friendly then?"

"No. The only way he could be defeated for good is to find my relics, the only things on this world that can harm him effectively. They were each created by the Divines, and possess power similar to the wayshrines that you visited."

"The wayshrines gave me…unnatural powers. I threw a Khajiit to Summerset Isle after visiting a shrine of Talos." Calvus said

"The effects of those way shrines are temporary, so I shouldn't worry."

Calvus looked slightly disappointed at this statement.

"Now it is time for me to tell you what the Prophet could not. The location of my helmet!" Pelinal said as he tapped his translucent helm.

"Where is it?" Calvus asked curiously.

"Look at your wayshrine map…" Pelinal replied simply.

Calvus took the map out and saw on it, a ghostly blue cross. It was in the middle of Lake Rumare.

"I hope you can achieve what I could not…Crusader." Pelinal said as he turned round and started to walk off. "Find the relics, defeat Umaril, or the world will go back to the First Era, and we don't want that to happen."

"But it's in the middle of a lake, how am I supposed to get in there?" Calvus called after him.

"Use your initiative!" Pelinal called back, before fading away.

Calvus then looked down. He could feel the wind rushing past him, and the ground was getting closer and closer.

"Sod." he said as he plummeted downwards.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- The Shrine of the Crusader

Calvus awoke. Instead of being a huge red stain in the ground he was lying beside the shrine of Arkay. Was it a vision? Was he teleported? Was it a dream? Was he crazy? He slowly got to his feet, then took out the map that the Prophet gave him. There was a blue cross over Lake Rumare, the same place that it had appeared in his 'vision'. Well he had come this far. And besides, he couldn't not go, because he would die of curiosity, and let down those that had died in the Chapel. But it was in the middle of the lake around the Imperial City. How could he get there if it was underwater? Well he would just have to try…

His journey was long and arduous, the shrine of Arkay he had visited was in the west of Cyrodiil, and he had to walk. It had taken him several days of trekking and several nights of sleeping in inns or campsites before he reached the large white stone bridge across the Upper Niben, where it met with Lake Rumare. The bridge was huge, three horses could walk abreast across it, and far below the waters of the river flowed calmly between the arches. Calvus started along the bridge, the nights cool breeze brushed against him in the darkness. He was halfway across when he heard a blood curdling noise. A wolf howl. He heard another one, then two, then three, until it seemed that the whole Nibeny valley was filled with wolves. And the howls were close. Too close. Calvus drew his sword as he made his way across the cobbles, and readied his shield. He was getting near to the end of the bridge, but then saw an unnerving sight. Three wolves in the darkness, fighting over a fallen deer. They tore into its flesh and squabbled with each other over the meat.

Calvus stood stock still. Hopefully the wolves weren't hungry. He was proved wrong seconds later, when the wolves caught his scent and started sniffing around, until they fixed their gaze upon him. Their eyes glowed yellow and green in the full moonlight. The wolves slowly padded forward, teeth bared and growling menacingly. Then they all of a sudden broke into a charge, they threw themselves at Calvus, eager to tear into some fresh meat. But they didn't expect this fresh meat to be in a can. Or have a sharp metal stick.

Calvus battered the nearest wolf's snout with his shield, then swiftly sliced into its neck with his sword. It gave a yelp of surprise at it fell to the floor, staining the cobbles with its blood. The second and third wolves stopped in their tracks after they saw their comrades demise. But the wolves of Cyrodiil were cunning. Both wolves charged at the same time, their teeth and claws scratching and denting Calvus' armour. He had no chance to strike only to defend, when he could have struck one wolf, he had to block an attack from the other. However he was not yet beaten. He deflected one wolfs' attack with his shield, and managed to nick its leg as it staggered back. As it yelped the other wolf leapt up, trying to get at Calvus' throat, but Calvus put his hand on the wolfs' hide and cast a flare spell. The flames spluttered but they managed to singe the wolfs' fur, making it yelp and back down. With both wolves stunned, Calvus finished them off with strikes to the neck. He felt it was time for a one liner.

"Bad doggy!" he said, smirking at his own bad joke.

However, the smirk was wiped off his face by the appearance of more wolves at the bridges end. Calvus' armour was beaten and he was tired from the fight. As the wolves approached he turned around. The other end of the bridge was too far and the wolves would probably outrun him. He looked ahead again, the wolves were closer, the numerous fierce growls had turned into one low blanket of sound that made Calvus' heart pound in terror. He looked from the wolves to the deep murky waters below. There was only one option. Calvus leapt up onto the side of the bridge, and with one final glance at the wolves, jumped off.

He landed in the cold water just as the wolves started lamenting for their fallen brothers. His armour was heavy and bulky and no matter how much he tried to stay above the surface, he still sank like a stone. He finally took his final gulp of air and went under the surface. Calvus drifted through the deep gloom of the water. Time seemed to slow, the water was getting darker and darker. His blurred vision went almost completely black.

But then…hope. Calvus saw something white through the dark murky waters. A door. A white door, a beacon of hope that called Calvus. He plunged into his final reserves of strength, and made for the door. Reaching it within seconds he pushed against it. The door gave in to Calvus' strength and centuries of erosion. He swam through and surfaced inside the ruin. He took a great gasp of stale air and exhaled, collapsing onto the smooth white stairs, breathing in and out, the old air like sweet honey to his lungs. He coughed and spluttered, water dripping off of him. Calvus looked at the floor for a few minutes, thanking the Gods that he was alive. After he felt he could lift his head, he checked his surroundings. The architecture of the walls and stairs looked like Ayleid craftsmanship, this was confirmed by a cage of raw Welkynd stones that lit the area with a blue aura. Then it struck him. A structure underwater in the middle of Lake Rumare, an ancient ruin. This must be where the Helm was located!

But Calvus was tired, so he decided to rest where he was. He lay on the stairs, still recovering from his plight in the water. After about half an hour of rest he slowly picked himself up and ascended the stairs. As he got to the top he smelt a horrible repugnant smell. The smell of dry bone meal and rotting flesh. That meant one thing: Undead.

He had met their ilk once before, he had been sent to clear them from a cave on a contract. The horrible creatures he encountered were skeletons and zombies, kept alive by some necromantic magic. They attacked with malice and had no fear, only hatred. But the worse thing was the guilty feeling you got when you finally managed to defeat one…that creature had been a person once, who's life had ended in the darkness of that cave. It was terrible fighting them, Calvus would never forget. Now he had to repeat that experience.

He walked through the white corridors, passing doorways on either side, each containing a slab, and on them, dusty skeletons. This was no grand Ayleid city or fortress, but a tomb. Calvus was so scared and alert that his heart was racing, then it almost leaped out of his chest as he heard a blood curdling and horrifying cry. The cry belonged to a zombie. The grey body lurched out of a doorway, part of its ribcage was bare, the skin was hanging off in places. It smelt of rotting flesh. The zombie lunged at Calvus, who swiftly lopped off its head with his sword, but that did not deter it from attacking him. Its fighting style was sloppy but its long claws were sharp and deadly. Calvus blocked its blows with his shield, sliced it limbs and ran it through several times with his sword before it finally succumbed to his might.

Calvus lowered his sword, then nudged the fallen undead with his foot. It went '_Squelch_'. Calvus shuddered, stepped over the slumped corpse and made his way onwards. After a few more minutes of creeping through the white halls he came across a skeleton, grasping an iron war axe in its bony hand. It felt his presence and turned round, the bones making a creaking noise. Calvus cast a flare spell that hit the skeleton in the arm, which flew off. One fast hard strike with his sword was enough to send the skeleton crumbling into a pile of bones and dust. His destruction skills were certainly getting better.

Calvus made his way through the ruin, dispatching undead here and there, however as he went on the stonework looked less like an Aylied ruin and more like it had been crafted by men. Calvus wandered though the crumbling stone corridors, occasionally having to detour round obstacles and blockages. He didn't really have any purposeful direction, he was just wandering about, hoping to run into the Helm.

_That is if its still here_, Calvus thought.

He then found himself in a large crumbling chamber, with three passageways blocked by iron gates. There was also an elevated position, upon which was an alter, and upon that alter…The Helm of the Crusader!

Calvus stepped forward in excitement. '_Crunch_'. He looked down, then almost shrieked in disgust. He had just trodden through the ribcage of a skeleton that had been lying on the floor. Tattered bits of dirty white cloth and links of chain mail covered the corpse, suggesting that this person had been a soldier or warrior of some kind. At the corpses side was a fine steel sword and a rotting red wooden shield. Next to that was a leather bound book with a red diamond on the cover, almost identical to the skeletons shield.

Calvus picked the book up carefully and opened it. He looked through the pages, carefully studying each one. It seemed that this was a journal of Sir Amiel, the leader of a group called 'The Knights of the Nine'. They had been safeguarding the holy relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, but after the War of the Red Diamond, the order had fallen into conflict and strife, until Sir Amiel, the skeleton that lay before Calvus' feet, was the only one left. The final entry suggested that the old Knight had tried to retrieve the Helm, but had fallen and died with it in his sight. There was also something about the Knights old priory somewhere in the West Weald, and how Sir Amiel's ring could help Calvus retrieve the Cuirass of the Crusader.

_But that's for later, I need to get that helm first_, Calvus thought as he slid the ring of the skeletons cold bony finger and with a slight pang of guilt, put it on.

The room felt colder at this point, colder and more menacing. Calvus looked up to where the Helm was situated. The sight that greeted him chilled him to the bone. A floating figure, a ghoulish white torso, with a face that had no features. Light blue mist was in place of its legs, and it gave off a constant subtle sound, like the wind travelling through a desolate tunnel. A ghost. The tortured soul floated from the alter down to Calvus' level. He stood still, terrified to the bone.

The ghost raised its translucent arms and cast a frost spell that sent Calvus to the floor. Still in pain from the spell Calvus got up, gathered all his courage and charged the creature, swinging at it with his sword. His sharp weapon went straight through it, doing no damage whatsoever. The ghost raised its hands again and cast another frost charm. Calvus' sword took the full impact of the spell. His fine blade froze and shattered into icy shards, scattering across the floor. Calvus was now unarmed, and the ghost was advancing on him again. He looked around in desperation, and saw on the ground Sir Amiel's sword. Just noticeable in the dimness was a faint red glow about the blade and that meant one thing: it was enchanted. And ghosts could be hurt by enchanted weapons.

Calvus dived to the ground, scooped the sword up in his hand and struck the ghost with it in one swift movement. The ghost screamed as magical flames engulfed it, and the former spirit sunk into a pool of green ectoplasm on the ground. Calvus gave a sigh of relief and sheathed his new weapon. Using all his remaining strength he climbed up the wall, using the nooks and crannies of the crumbled stonework to hoist himself up to the Helm. Finally, after some time spent reaching the top because of the need to test his handholds for safety, he climbed over the short metal railing and looked at the Helm. It was the exact image of the one that Whitestrake was wearing in the vision, except that it wasn't translucent.

He picked the Helm up and placed it on his head. It was surprisingly comfortable, and he felt the magika energy that trickled through him strengthen. He cast a small restoration spell that he had learnt ages ago, and he felt better for it.

_Well I have the Helm, now I just need to get out_, he thought.

He retraced his footsteps to the entrance, which was far safer with no undead in his path. When he got to the pool of water, he took a deep breath and swum outside into the open. His journey to the surface was easier due to the early light of dawn illuminating the water, and his recovered strength proving just enough to get him to the bank. After crawling onto the sand, he let himself and his possessions dry off, while he wondered about the location of the Knights old Priory…and more importantly how he could get there.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Bartering

Calvus sat on the bank of the lake contemplating what to do next. He needed a horse if he was to find the Knights priory. But the cheapest decent horse you could get was at least 1000 gold, and he only had about 50 on him. He would need to find some money. He could go back into the ruin and take the Welkynd stones, but you could only get about forty gold for them. Besides, he would have to carry them, and they looked quite heavy. After racking his brains for sometime he still had no solution. The Fighters Guild had no more jobs for him, and he didn't fancy going into any more dusty ruins to recover lost treasures. He then looked at Sir Amiel's enchanted sword at his side. It looked as if it was worth a few coins.

After some thought, Calvus decided to head to Bravil. While not the most pleasant of Cyrodiil's cities, it was the closest place with a blacksmith and a Fighters Guild, which was what he needed. Calvus walked to Bravil, his hand constantly on his sword hilt. This part of Cyrodiil was rich with wolves and mud crabs, and any traveller had to be cautious. After a few hours he reached the shabby gates to the town, where a rather unpleasant smell greeted him.

'_Why is Bravil's river also its sewage system?_' Calvus asked himself.

This city had no cobblestones, just muddy tracks. The shabby houses were several stories high, if they were built any larger then the whole town would probably sink. Abandoned chests, crates and carts lay around, often raided by desperate beggars. The dominant colour of the city was brown. The mud was brown, the walls were brown, the houses were brown, the river was brown, the Counts coat of arms was brown, the guards uniform was white, which was a mistake because it soon resembled brown. And it rained. All the time.

If the Imperial City was the jewel of Cyrodiil, then this city was the cesspit. Calvus passed beggars, idle guards, skooma addicts, thieves and brawlers as he strode along the river bank to a shop called 'The Archers Paradox'. A small bell tinkled as Calvus opened the door, and walked up to the Bosmer merchant standing behind the counter. The Wood Elf was middle aged, and was starting to bald. He had a bow and a quiver of steel arrows on his back, and was wearing a hunters vest and blacksmiths pants.

"The Archers Paradox, because there is no such thing as a perfect arrow. I'm Daenlin, how may I help you?" The Bosmers greeted with a warm and welcoming smile.

"This," Calvus said, as he slowly placed Sir Amiel's sword on the counter. "How much?"

"Steel longsword? 200 gold." Daenlin replied hoping to make a cheap purchase.

Calvus laughed. "I'll have you know this is made of fine steel, better quality and sharper than normal steel." he said.

"I am a smith, I know these things!" Daenlin snapped back.

He took a loupe eye glass out of a nearby drawer and inspected the sword closely. Calvus watched him as he turned the sword over, then inspected the hilt.

"Okay, 400 gold." he said, still looking at the blade.

"This sword is also enchanted, with a fire spell if I'm not mistaken." Calvus said to the smith.

The smith looked up at Calvus, then put the eyeglass down on the counter and took the sword to a barrel full of water. Daenlin took a purple potion bottle off a shelf, unplugged the cork and let some of the blue liquid inside pour into the barrel. He then put the cork back in and replaced the bottle on the shelf.

"Potion of sorcery." He explained to Calvus, who nodded.

The Bosmer then plunged the sword into the water, the dilute blue liquid turned a shade of deep crimson. The magical substance then rose as a red steam from the barrel, until only clear water was left. Daenlin took the sword out and dried it with a cloth.

"Okay" he said, as he placed the sword back on the table, " Fine steel longsword with reasonably strong fire enchantment, 750 gold."

"That's it?" Calvus replied in disbelief.

"Yup, that offer is more than reasonable. Take it or leave it." The Wood Elf said as he placed his eyeglass back in its drawer.

Calvus decided that it was time to play his wild card, and took a deep breath.

"What if I said that this was the sword of Sir Amiel, the leader of a group called 'The Knights of the Nine' who safeguarded the holy relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, the 'Divine Crusader', who killed an evil half Ayleid half Daedric slavemaster in the first era. Now to get this sword I had to fight my way through an ancient underwater Ayleid city, filled with zombies, skeletons and ghosts. Would that increase its value?"

The Bosmer looked him up and down, and seeing Calvus' battered armour and the richly decorated helm on his head, he was inclined to believe this outlandish story. He thought for a few seconds before saying:

"How much do you want?"

"1250 gold." Calvus replied.

"1100 and I'll repair your armour."

"Done!" Calvus said, shaking the smiths hand.

***

Daenlin sweated as his hammer clanged and banged against Calvus' cuirass over the anvil. He was wondering about the Imperials story, and how true he believed it to be. It would certainly be something to tell the lads at Silverhome tonight in any case.

Calvus watched the Elf hard at work, and counted his 1100 gold into a rather large purse. When he was satisfied, he took a look round at all the archery related paraphernalia around the shop. _This guy certainly likes shooting_, he thought as he took a close look at a glass arrow mounted on the wall.

"Finished!" Daenlin exclaimed as his last hammer blow hit Calvus' cuirass.

The Elf picked up the cuirass and placed it on the counter, then piled the rest of Calvus' newly repaired armour next to it. Calvus took a look at it. The dents of many days toil and fighting had been beaten out by Daelin's hammer, as had the scratches from glancing blows. Calvus started to put his armour back on, doing up the leather straps that held it in place. He had left the Helm of the Crusader on a table, as it had not been damaged in the slightest. He put it on last, and straightened it on his head. Daenlin looked at for a few seconds.

"Where did you get that helm? It looks quite well made. I'll give you…200 gold for it." he said.

Calvus took the Helm off his head and looked at it a moment before answering.

"This Helm was created by the Divines for the legendary Pelinal Whitestrake. It was left in the same ruin where I found the sword. It had been lying at shrine to Pelinal for a few hundred years before I came to claim it, seeing as I'll need it to defeat Umaril the Unfeathered once again, since he has returned and plans to destroy the Gods and pretty much take over the world."

The Bosmers mouth fell open. Calvus smirked as he put the Helm back on, tightened the straps of his gleaming steel armour and walked out of the door.

"300?" The Bosmer called after him.

Calvus stepped into the muddy street and walked along until he reached the Fighters Guild. Bravil had not become any more pleasant while he had been inside the blacksmiths. He opened the door, walked inside and wiped his feet. A Breton porter confronted him.

"Are you a member?" he asked.

Calvus took his Fighters guild I.D out from his armour and showed it to the porter. The Fighters Guild I.D was basically a slip of parchment, with the holders name, age, rank and the official Guild stamp. At the sight of this, the porter nodded.

"Can I help you brother…Calvus?" The Breton enquired.

"I need a weapon." Calvus replied simply.

He looked through every chest and every cupboard. It seemed the only thing he could find was a lifetime supply of pewter pitchers. However after an extensive search in the training area he found a silver shortsword.

_Well it's either this or an iron dagger_, he thought as he strapped the slender weapon to his belt.

Calvus wished the Breton well as he walked out of the door into the city. He casually strolled out of the gate past a guard who looked half asleep, his eyes down and his spear leant against the wall. Calvus ignored the guards sloppiness on duty and went across the rope bridge to the Bay Roam Stables. He went inside the main building and was greeted by a female Breton, who sold him quite a good bay horse for 1000 gold. Well that was what she said. The horse looked a bit underfed to Calvus as he mounted it and rode off into the distance, far away from Bravil and its unique smell.

Calvus had travelled via horse before, and this was one of the tamest horses he had ever ridden. After a few hours he needed a rest, as did his horse. He dismounted and sat beside a tree. His mount trotted over to a small patch of grass and started eating.

"You need a name…" Calvus said to the horse.

The horse turned its head and looked at him, grass poking out each corner of its mouth.

"How about…Horace?" Calvus suggested.

The horse glared at him.

"Erm okay…how about…Regulus? After the count of Bravil?" he said.

The horse then fully turned to face Calvus, the eyes still glaring at him.

"Tiber? After the first Emperor?" Calvus said quickly.

The horse shook its head and neighed, then turned back to the patch of grass.

"Tiber it is then…" Calvus muttered.

After he was fully rested he mounted and resumed his journey. He and Tiber speedily rode across country to the West Weald, just south of Skingrad. The first day he found nothing. The second day proved fruitless as well. But on the third day whilst resting, through the mist he saw a collection of buildings. He decided to investigate, and walked closer to the buildings, leading Tiber by the reins. As he got closer he could see more detail. One of the buildings looked like a large house, the other a small chapel. He tied Tiber to a nearby tree and approached the dwellings. He walked past a barren patch of earth surrounded by a crumbling stone wall that once may have been used for growing crops. He cautiously opened the door to the large house and stepped inside.

Calvus expected to find ghosts and skeletons, but the only thing that assailed him was a cobweb that attached itself to the Helm. He brushed it off, and had a look round. He found a few books and an untidy bed upstairs, but apart from that, little else. However, he then noticed on the ground floor a red diamond surrounded by intricate patterns not unlike the wayshrines. He saw that in the centre of the diamond was a small hole. It was at that moment he remembered Amiel's ring. He took it off his finger, placed it in the hole, and twisted. The floor under his feet suddenly dropped to reveal stairs down to a wooden door. Unfortunately the sudden change in ground level caused Calvus to topple down the stairs and through the wooden door, into a rather large basement.

Calvus cursed secret passages as he picked himself up and brushed his armour down. He retrieved Amiel's ring, which had bounced down the stone steps and landed with a '_clink_'. He went further into the basement, and saw an unused and dusty forge, with a training area and several chests and cupboards scattered around. There was no sign of the Cuirass. But then he noticed a rickety wooden door on the left side of the room. Calvus crept towards it and carefully pushed it open. He was greeted with a rush of stale air, and the sight of what looked like a crypt. It was a large chamber, and around the walls were grand statues of dead Knights, carved from black stone. The place was lit by a dim light from a barred opening in the ceiling, depicting what looked like Umaril and Pelinal in the heat of battle. The light illuminated an armour stand at the other end of the chamber, and upon the stand was the Cuirass of the Crusader!! It was not just like any Cuirass, it was richly decorated with golden thread and a red diamond in the centre of the white cloth. It seemed to glow with holy light. In his excitement Calvus ran towards it, but just as he got halfway he found himself frozen to the spot by some unnatural force.

"WHO DARES ENTER THE CRYPT OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE NINE!!!???" A menacing voice boomed.

'_I've done it now_' Calvus thought.

A flash blurred his vision, and when he his eyes got into focus again he saw eight ghostly figures, clad in translucent chain mail and cloth surrounding him, swords and claymores drawn.

Calvus looked at the ground and said to himself:

"Shit".


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Combat.

Calvus looked up. Nope, they were still there, all eight of them, and they still had their ghostly weapons drawn, ready to cut him to bits. The Knight directly in front of him looked like their leader, he was taller and broader than the other knights and his ghostly armour seemed grander and more decorative. The ghost roared:

"KNIGHTS - KILL THIS INTRUDER!!"

The other ghostly Knights stepped forward and raised their blades.

"WAIT!"

The Knights lowered their blades, and reluctantly stepped back.

"He wears the Helm of the Crusader!" the leader said. "Intruder what is your purpose here?"

"Your not going to kill me?" Calvus asked.

"No!…Well not yet at least…just answer the question!" The leader replied.

"Well I found Sir Amiel's journal along with the Helm, and it told me to come here to get the Cuirass. And I'll need that to defeat Umaril…" Calvus said quite nervously.

"Umaril?" A Knight said. "He has returned?"

At this the Knights started whispering to each other.

"Be quiet fellow Knights and put away your weapons." The leader commanded.

The Knights obeyed and fell back into a circle surrounding Calvus. At this sight Calvus became a little less nervous, but only a little.

"Intruder it is my diary you found, for I am… well I was Sir Amiel."

"Its…its an honour to meet you Sir Knight!" Calvus said with a courteous bow.

"Indeed. However, you said that you are going to defeat Umaril? Well first you need to prove your worth to us intruder, worthy enough to claim the Cuirass of the Crusader and start a campaign against Umaril. You must past a test." Amiel said.

"And what might that be?"

Sir Amiel smiled as the Knights drew their weapons once more.

"Your joking!!!!!"

Sir Amiel shook his head, the smile now gone from his face.

"I can assure you intruder, this is no jest! Sir Caius! Step forward and prove your worth!"

A ghostly Imperial from Calvus' right stepped forward and swung his translucent blade. Calvus blocked his blow just in time with his shield, then drew his silver shortsword. He attempted a strike at Caius' side, but the Knight casually blocked it with his pale diamond shield.

_How is this even possible?, _Calvus thought, _I'm fighting thin air! _

Sir Caius thrust his blade forwards, which would have been straight though Calvus' heart if he had not dodged to the left in time. Calvus saw an opening and swiftly hacked at Caius' neck. Sir Caius collapsed to the ground and disappeared. He reappeared where he had been standing before the fight, except he was kneeling down and his sword pointing down to the ground as if in prayer.

"Sir Caius, you have been defeated!" Amiel declared. "Sir Casamir, step forward and prove your worth!"

A Redguard ghost from Calvus' left stepped forward, his sword gleaming from the little light in the crypt.

"Another one? How many do I have to defeat?" Calvus asked as he ducked the Knights swing.

"All of us." Sir Amiel replied simply, watching the ensuing fight.

Calvus ducked again, then swiftly thrust his silver blade into the Knights knee. Now normally this would have made his opponent scream in agonising pain, thus giving Calvus an advantage, but since his opponent was technically already dead it didn't do much to help him.

_Bugger! _Calvus thought as he retreated to the other side of the circle of Knights and squared up to Casamir.

The Redguard charged Calvus waving his sword in the air, leaving his stomach open to attack. Calvus then used a trick he had learned from Modryn Oreyn a few months back. He ducked down, out of the path of the Knights sword, then grabbed Casamir round his waist and threw him over his head onto the floor. This was fighting dirty. Calvus finished the stunned ghost off with a strike to the chest. Like the previous contender, the ghost disappeared and reappeared in his previous position, praying. Calvus was surprised that the trick had worked, he had only done it once before. But what was really bizarre was that he could actually _touch_ the ghost, meaning these were no ordinary spectres. If you could count spectres as ordinary.

"Sir Casamir, you have been defeated! Sir Gregory! Step forward and show this intruder how the Knights of the Nine truly fight!" Sir Amiel roared.

_This is going to take a long time_, Calvus thought as he readied his sword once more. This Knight proved stronger than the previous two, and was more cautious in his defence. After quite a long time, a few dents in his armour, a couple of cuts and bruises, and a bit of a headache, Calvus had defeated seven of the Knights. But his legs were shaking and his arms ached, he hadn't fought this hard before, not even against those wolves. Now seven of the spectral Knights were kneeling in prayer, with only one left standing.

"You have done very well to get this far intruder. However, now you will face ME!!!!!!" Sir Amiel boomed as he drew a claymore from his back.

"Can't we talk about this?" Calvus said as the ghostly Knight charged at him, his Claymore looking _extremely_ dangerous.

Calvus blocked Amiel's first strike with his shield, which proved to be a mistake. The great impact of the blow forced his beloved shield to bend almost in two. That shield had been with him through pretty much everything, ever since he first joined the guild. It had saved his life many a time, had been with him through thick and thin, it had faced wolves, bandits, bears, even undead and now it lay crumpled and hanging limp on his wrist by a leather strap. Calvus had never considered himself attached to his possessions, but that shield wasn't an item, it had been a brother. And that made him mad. Very mad.

"You bastard!!" Calvus exclaimed.

He hit the ghost around the face with the remains of his former shield, it flew off his wrist and clattered on the floor. He then went into a rage striking Amiel, who had barely any time to react against Calvus' furious assault. And with each strike Calvus shouted a word.

"YOU BASTARD, THAT……..SHIELD…..WAS……WAS… **MINE**!!!!!!!!"

After the red hot fury had been spent Calvus looked up at Amiel. He had a shocked look on his face as he slowly fell over to the ground. The expression was still there after he had reappeared, standing, unlike the other Knights.

"Intruder, no-one has ever defeated all of The Knights of the Nine combined! You are the first!! You may step forward and claim your prize!"

The ghostly blue barrier that had appeared in front of the Cuirass disappeared into nothingness.

"Brilliant." Calvus muttered as the world went dark.

His armour make a huge '_CLANG_' as it hit the floor.

***

Calvus gave a big yelp of fear and surprise as he awoke from his exhausted state. This was due to the eight ghostly Knights standing over him, looking down at him.

"He's awake!" One of them said.

"Calvus! Calvus, you need to claim the Cuirass!" Sir Amiel said.

Calvus rubbed his head and groaned.

"Wait…wait how do you know my name?" He said with surprise.

"It's on your Fighters Guild I.D."

"Oh."

Calvus got up and brushed himself down. The Knights around him stepped back, allowing him to pass. He walked over to the small alcove where the Cuirass was, covered in dust on its wooden stand. He slowly lifted it off, and brushed the dust off. It felt different to any material he had felt before, dense and smooth, yet light at the same time. He undid the straps holding his battered steel cuirass, letting it fall to the floor with a clatter. He put the Crusaders Cuirass on. He did up a few straps and fastenings, and making sure it was tight, turned to face the Knights.

"Its like Pelinal himself is here!" One of the Knights exclaimed.

"All hail the Divine Crusader!!" Sir Amiel bellowed, and all the Knights knelt to Calvus at this command.

Calvus surveyed the ghosts, he had never felt so important, or so powerful ever before.

"Now" He rumbled deeply in a voice that surprised him "lets find the rest of these relics."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Natures Fury

The Knights rose to their feet, still looking slightly in awe of Calvus.

"Well Crusader…" Amiel said "It's quite complicated. You see we, as Knights of the Nine, split the relics of Pelinal between us. We put them in safe places before we died, and in those places they stay, known only to few, including ourselves."

"So what relic should I look for first?" asked Calvus.

"If I may Sir Amiel?" One of the Knights requested.

Amiel nodded in response, the Redguard ghost who had just spoken stepped forward.

"My Lord, I was Sir Juncan and I quested for the Boots of the Crusader. I died whilst trying to find them, but I still managed to learn of their location."

"Where are they?"

"They are at a shrine to Kynareth in the wilderness, west of the Imperial City."

Calvus took his map out of his pocket. Another ghostly blue cross had appeared on the parchment. It slowly faded to black, pinpointing the location of the shrine, in the middle of the great forest.

"Thanks." Calvus said. "I will return with the boots!"

He walked to the door of the crypt, then hesitated.

"What am I going to do about my shield?" he said, eyeing it's shattered remains on the ground.

"You can take one of our shields from the undercroft." Amiel said "Good luck to you Crusader!"

The Knights vanished with a bright blue flash, leaving Calvus alone in the dim crypt. He decided to get out quickly. In the undercroft he found some red diamond shaped shields in a large chest, all identical to the one he had found by Sir Amiel's skeleton. He picked one out, it felt lighter and was larger than his steel shield. He disliked it already, it didn't feel right in his hand. But for now it would have to do.

Calvus walked up the stairs and outside into the priory. He had spent quite some time in that building, it was nearly dark. However, he needed to leave as soon as he could. He went back to the tree to untie his horse, mounted it and with a cry of '_On Tiber!_' failed to speed off into the distance. Instead the horse looked at him reproachfully.

"Oh alright then, _please_?" Calvus pleaded.

Tiber snorted and started trotting before he broke into a full gallop.

So far, it had been a pretty average day for Allinus. He was a soldier of the Imperial Legion, and had been on patrol, looking forward to his drink at the Wawnet Inn, when this had happened. He had encountered bandits. Five of them. And instead of killing him (which was good) they had taken him prisoner and were rifling through his armour and possessions (which wasn't so good) and they said that after they were done they would kill him (which was bad). He was tied up next to his Bay horse, left in his underwear, and left with the humiliation of the bandits jokes around him, it was fair to say he was quite pissed off. Their Orc leader had made the worst joke.

"What'd ya call an Imperial without his clothes?" He had snarled. "Lunch!".

_Somebody shoot me now, _Allinus thought. But it was then he saw a blue light in the distance. The bandits had seen it too, and had stopped their jest to look at the oncoming light. It turned out to be a mounted figure, in quite spectacular armour.

"Stand aside in the name of the Nine Divines!" The figure shouted.

"The Divines? Who do you think we are? Priests?" A Bosmer bandit shouted back.

That seemed to anger the figure, who charged and with a glint of silver, beheaded their Orc leader. The figure then dismounted and walked into the middle of the now terrified group of bandits.

"BOO!" It bellowed.

The Bandits ran for their lives, a blue shiny figure had just killed their leader, and they didn't really want to stick around. The figure walked over to the tree and untied Allinus, who was in awe of what had just happened.

"W-w-who are you?" Allinus stuttered.

"Me?" the figure chuckled. "I am the Divine Crusader, and though on a quest, I stopped to save you from those brigands. Now I must be on my way"

The figure mounted its steed. Allinus felt quite embarrassed being in front of such of a glorious apparition whilst in his underwear, but he still had to ask:

"Is there anything I can do My Lord?"

The 'Crusader' hesitated, then replied: "When you go to the Inn tonight, tell your comrades this story, spread the word about me, give people hope in these unholy times!"

"Yessir!" Allinus saluted, again, feeling a bit silly in his undergarments.

"Thank you!" The figure reared his horse and galloped off along the road, glowing blue once more.

Allinus decided to put his armour on, and go and tell everyone what had just happened. This could even get in the Black Horse Courier! Apart from the 'him being pretty much naked' part.

As Calvus rode off he thought about the recent encounter. He had thundered down the Gold road like there was no tomorrow, and then strangely, the Cuirass has started to glow blue, then the Helm, then his shield, then his entire body was bathed in the light. Tiber was glowing as well, making Calvus look like a huge frost charm charging down the road. In the distance he saw a rather large fire, and some figures surrounding it. They numbered six, one of them tied to a tree. He slowed Tiber down to a trot and looked closer, then realised that those figures standing up were bandits. He didn't want to draw his sword yet, so tried diplomacy. It failed, so Calvus drew his silver shortsword and charged. He went through the group, his silver blade gleamed as it cleaved through the neck of the Orc leader. Calvus then managed to scare off the rest of the bandits. He was quite proud of himself after he had done that. He had then untied the Imperial, told him to spread the word about 'The Divine Crusader' and charged off into the distance, and started glowing again, which was fairly strange. Then again these relics were made by the Divines, so what did you expect?

Calvus spent the rest of night under the stars, sheltered by the canopy of the Great Forest. He was finding it difficult to find the Shrine to Kynareth, so he decided to leave it for the morning. He looked at the trees surrounding him, tiredness making his eyelids heavy. _Trees. Lots of Trees. Valenwood. Bosmer. Aranwen…ARANWEN! _He had completely forgotten about her! He hadn't even told her where he was going! Well Andre must have told her! He must of! But he had disappeared from Anvil as well. Then it occurred to Calvus. Nobody knew where he was. Nobody alive anyway. Not even the Prophet knew.

_Don't panic_, he told himself, _just get on with the task at hand and you will be fine._

That night he slept a worried sleep. When he awoke a deer was looking at him, but bounded off as soon as Calvus stirred, it's grazing abandoned.

"Well there goes breakfast." he said to himself.

He resorted to eating some bread out Tiber's saddlebags. It was starting to go a bit stale, but he had to make do. He mounted Tiber and started looking for the Shrine again. After about an hour before he spotted a grey statue through the trees. He cantered towards it, dismounted, secured Tiber and approached the Shrine. There was a statue of what appeared to be Kynareth; a wooden stand for holy tomes and six benches laid out in two rows of three. There were three priests there as well, a female Imperial with whitish hair, an elderly male Nord and a middle aged Redguard, all dressed green robes. The female priestess saw Calvus and approached him.

"Hail stranger." she said, "I'm priestess Avita, and this is the shrine of Kynareth. How may I serve you?"

"I seek the Boots of The Crusader, which I have been told are in your keeping, good lady!" Calvus replied courteously.

Avita blushed a little at being called 'good lady', but regained her composure and replied with deep seriousness.

"I cannot allow just anyone to claim the boots of the Crusader." she said " They need to pass a test to show that they are worthy…who are you? Do you have a title?"

"Indeed I do. I am the Divine Crusader! I have come because Umaril the Unfeathered has arisen once again, and I need to claim all the relics to defeat him!"

Avita looked Calvus up and down and it seemed for the first time she took note of the grand Cuirass and Helm.

"Are those the Helm and Cuirass?" she asked in bewilderment.

"They certainly are." Calvus replied

"Then I have no choice but to believe you!" she said. "However, you must still pass the test."

"And what would that be?" Calvus said.

"I cannot say" she replied sternly "You must find out for yourself. The only thing I can tell you is the tests location: West of here, about half a mile. And some advice: _Respect the works and creatures of Kynareth, and they shall respect you_. Now Crusader, I bid you farewell, and good luck in the test you are about to face."

She watched him leave, walking westwards. The Nord walked over to her and said:

"I bet he doesn't last five minutes."

"We shall see Jesper, we shall see." was Avita's only reply.

Calvus walked into a clearing in the forest. Many species of flower surrounded him. Their different colours were blobs amongst the long green grass. The many petals gave off a rather pleasant smell.

_This must be the place_, thought Calvus. _So what's here that could possibly threaten me!_

He heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps. More like paw-steps actually. Calvus turned around and saw the biggest bear he had ever seen. It was at least one and a half times his height and was the length of two horses. The huge creature roared, spraying bear saliva all over Calvus.

"Oh bugger..." he said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- Stendarr's Mercy

The bear swiped its huge paw at Calvus, who took the full impact of the blow. He went flying into a tree, and ended up in a crumpled heap beneath it. The Crusaders Cuirass had taken a beating, but it had saved him. Calvus struggled to his feet and met the gaze of the bear. It looked as if it was deciding whether to charge him or not. It chose the first option. Calvus swiftly drew his silver blade, he was ready to slice that overgrown teddy to pieces. Then he remembered Avita's words:

"_Respect the works and creatures of Kynareth, and they shall respect you" _

Calvus lowered his sword and instead raised his shield. The bear bashed against it, splintering some of the red wood. It then changed tactics and took another huge swipe, which would have taken Calvus' head off if he had not dived out of the way. Calvus lay on the ground, and scrambled to get up, but too late, the bear hit him again. He flew over to the other side of the Grove, landing at the foot of a large oak tree. The bear charged towards him again, but stopped about a pace away from Calvus' bruised body. Calvus looked up at the bear. It was standing there looking at him, like he was some kind of stain on the ground. It then turned its back and padded out of the Grove. Calvus got up uncertainly and watched the bear walking away.

"That's right! Walk away you bastard! What's wrong?! Will I give you indigestion?!" He shouted after it.

The bear looked back and gave him a look which said 'You're a waste of my time', and padded off into the trees. Calvus checked his body to see if anything was broken, and thank the Divines there wasn't. He then heard a rumble of stone, he looked round and saw that part of a rock had slid into the earth, revealing a stone door. He walked over to it cautiously. He had always had bad experiences with stone doors in the wilderness. Behind them was usually something dangerous, or scary, or horrifying, or something with big teeth and a grudge against visitors. He approached the door gingerly. Calvus was expecting a dirty old cave full of cobwebs or dead corpses, or a dusty Aylied ruin with deadly traps and undead. However, what he saw was completely different, a natural stone chamber, containing some of the loveliest flowers and plants he had ever seen, lit beautifully from a hole in the ceiling. The vegetation almost seemed to sparkle, butterflies with intricate patterns on their wings flew around the chamber. A stone alter lay in the chambers centre, guarded by two Spriggans. Upon this alter were the Boots of the Crusader. Calvus walked up to the alter, keeping his eyes on the Spriggans, they were things of natural beauty, but deadly. He picked up the boots to inspect them, and after a moments decision, took off his steel boots and put the Crusader's ones on. He turned and saw the Spriggans observing him. They bowed.

As Calvus walked out of the cave, he realised something about the boots. Wherever he stood, the grass seemed to visibly grow, and the stone seemed warm, as if it was eager to turn back to its natural state of molten rock. Calvus then decided to go back to Kynareth's Shrine, to say his farewells. He walked through the forest, until he stopped dead. There was a wolf _right_ in front of him. He drew his sword and raised his shield. Surprisingly, the wolf didn't charge, it didn't howl or snarl. It just regarded him as it would a tree, and padded right past him. _These boots may have been worth it after all_, Calvus thought as he continued his journey. He reached the Shrine and was greeted by Jesper the Nord priest.

"Well, I see you didn't die" he said.

"Apparently" Calvus replied.

Avita then noticed Calvus' return and gave him a great big smile.

"I knew you would succeed!" she said.

"Well.. er…thanks! I just came to say goodbye, I've got to go back to the Priory and find the location of another relic" Calvus said.

He turned his back and walked over to Tiber.

"Wait!…..Crusader"

Calvus turned round to see Avita behind him looking slightly embarrassed.

"Yes?" he asked

"Well…could I come and serve under you? As a Knight I mean. Its just that, you probably need some help locating some of the relics and…well…I know a lot about the Gods being a priest, and I think this could be one of the best ways I could serve Kynareth." she said with a slight smile.

"You want to become a Knight serving under me? A Knight of the Gods? A Knight of the Nine?" Calvus said

"Yes" she said, looking straight at him, hoping for an answer.

"Then……I have no choice but to accept" Calvus said. "Come hither Avita and kneel"

The Redguard sniggered at this, but he decided to shut up after both Calvus and Avita shot him a glance. Calvus drew his sword and touched first Avita's right shoulder, then her left. _Thank God I didn't behead her_, he thought.

"Arise, Sir Avita!!" He exclaimed.

Avita arose and bowed. Calvus then raised his sword in the air, which gleamed in the afternoon sun. He said:

"With this Knighthood I declare: I will rebuild the Knights of the Nine to their former glory, to protect and serve the Gods and Tamriel!!"

All present were in awe of his small speech. Even Tiber looked gob smacked at his masters words. Calvus sheathed his sword and untied his faithful horse.

"Come Sir Avita!" he said, as he offered her his hand.

Calvus pulled her onto the horse, Tiber gave him a reproachful look at the extra weight but Calvus said "You can't fool me, you're more than strong enough to carry us both", Tiber made a noise that Calvus could have sworn was a sigh but broke into a gallop at the feel of his masters heels. They were soon almost invisible in the trees to the men left behind.

"And you said he wouldn't last 5 minutes Jesper!" the Redguard priest said.

"I'll give him till Sundas" the Nord replied.

***

Calvus thundered through the forest, branches and leaves rushed past him, Avita was clinging onto his waist for dear life. Then it caught up with him. _I fought a massive bear, claimed another relic, convinced a wolf that I'm not tasty and knighted somebody_, he thought. _Is this a dream????_

They reached the Priory surprisingly quickly. Calvus left Tiber in the Priory stables, now he knew that there was nothing lurking in them. Tiber was practically steaming, he looked exhausted, and leaned on Calvus as he was removing his saddle. Avita laughed at this sight.

"Gerrof!" Calvus said in surprise.

The horse looked disappointed, but satisfied that it had made it's point, decided to lean in the post instead.

"Good horse" Calvus said, then walked off, trying to regain his dignity.

As they entered the Priory, Avita frowned.

"Its filthy!" She said.

"Yeah, I haven't really had a chance to tidy up. I need to and talk to the undead Knights in the crypt, be back in a minute."

"I'll clear up for you then" Avita said "Looks as if I need to take up a duster before I take up a sword".

In the crypt, the Knights appeared and Calvus told them his tale, trying to drown out the loud clattering and banging upstairs of Avita's epic fight against the dirt. He was met by the Knights approval, especially Sir Juncan. He was then told of the location of the Gauntlets of the Crusader by Sir Casimir: The Chapel in Chorrol. Casimir told Calvus his tale of how they got to be there, how the Knight had slain a beggar in the chapel, and the Gauntlets had fallen off his hands sticking to the floor like stone. Calvus had heard this tale before, but dismissed it as local legend, a story to attract people to the chapel. He felt a bit guilty now.

"I became weary, and could not do much. I fear this curse has been passed onto my descendants. It has something to do with the Gauntlets I am sure" Casimir concluded.

"I will try and find out for you. I will sort all this out, I promise" Calvus said.

"Thank you" Casimir replied.

Calvus went upstairs, and after a quick farewell to Avita (who was still clearing up) went to the stables, mounted Tiber, and started his journey.

He travelled on many roads, meeting the occasional bandit or highwayman, but no wolves or bears. This was because of the Boots, they seemed to make the aggressive wildlife passive towards the wearer. Well Calvus wasn't complaining. When he arrived at the city, he stabled Tiber in the stables outside and strode through the gate.

"Good Morn-" A Guard said to him before stopping in mid sentence.

"Hello!……………Is there something wrong?" Calvus asked the stunned guard.

The guard said nothing, just left his mouth open

"Careful, there's flies about" Calvus joked. "Are you okay?"

"Your….him" The Guard said

"Who?"

"The…the Divine Crusader"

"No, I'm ……actually… I suppose I am. But how do you know?"

The Guard wordlessly pulled a Black Horse Courier from out his uniform and handed it to Calvus who opened it and read:

_It seems the Gods have answered our prayers after the terrible incident at the Chapel of Anvil. They have sent us a Godly warrior from above to save us, who calls himself: The Divine Crusader. Reports from residents of cities he has visited say that he is here to help us, and there are many tales from witnesses of his holy deeds. Allinus Perinus, a Legion Soldier, told The Black Horse Courier how he saved him from five outlaws. "He came along on this massive blue glowing horse" Allinus told us-_

Calvus stopped reading. So he was famous. Great. He walked off with the paper, getting no protest from the Guard. He sat down on a nearby bench, took the Helm off and reread the paper, ignoring the shocked looks he got from passers by, or the whispered conversations about him.

"_Is that him?"_

"_What's he doing here?"_

"_Are we going to be attacked?" _

Calvus then heard one voice that jogged his memory and his heart.

"Calvus???!!!"A female Bosmers voice exclaimed

Calvus looked up and said meekly:

"Hi….Aranwen"

_***_

Outside the city walls, a man in black robes was showing an unusual amount of interest in a bush. He was far from prying eyes, which was good for his kind of work. The man then found what he was looking for, a bag with 500 Septims, and a folded note. The man opened it and read:

_If your reading this, then you managed to kill that pesky Argonian. Good work. But your next contract should prove slightly more difficult. A noble from High Rock has paid us to kill 'The Divine Crusader' who has recently risen to fame because of some old Order of Knights he claims to be rebuilding. He will be in Chorrol right now, and you may dispatch him in any way necessary. However, if you want to receive the whole payment, you must kill him without any public witnesses. Be strong brother, and may Sithis guide you. _

_Lucien Lachance. _

The man folded the note up and slipped it into his robe, and smiled to himself.

_This will be good, _he thought to himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Fame

Aranwen looked him up and down, taking note of the Crusaders armour.

"Fighters Guild not good enough for you?" she asked.

"No, no of course not! It's a long stor-"

His sentence was interrupted by Aranwen suddenly rushing forward and gluing her lips to his. They kissed for a few seconds, until Aranwen pulled away, and put her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder. _Well this is better than I expected_, Calvus thought as he stroked her long brown hair.

"I was so afraid something had happened to you" Aranwen said in a worried tone. "Andre said that you had gone to Anvil, but I sent a message and the reply I got from Azzan said you were missing".

"Well I'm here now." Calvus said in an attempt to comfort her.

"Then I hear that there's this 'Crusader' guy running around Cyrodiil, doing good stuff, and then he comes here and it turns out to be you…" She looked at him, and then Calvus realised she was crying. "Its quite overwhelming."

Calvus hugged her again, holding her tight. Her flow of tears soon stopped, and then she asked:

"So... what are you doing here?"

"Well" Calvus replied, choosing his words carefully " I came here, firstly to see you, and secondly to get the Gauntlets of the Crusader from the Chapel."

"Those things?" she said in surprise, " I thought that they were just a story to get people to go to the Chapel!"

"So did I, but it turns out we were wrong." Calvus said. "I was going to go there now actually…want to come?"

"Sure!" she said, beaming at him. " I've only been attacking a wooden dummy today, and it was getting boring." She had obviously cheered up.

They stood up and linked arms and started strolling towards the chapel.

***

The assassins gold trimmed shoes made no noise on the roof tiles of the Oak and Crosier Inn. He crouched down and watched the Crusader walked though the streets with a Bosmer hanging onto his arm.

"Not here…too public." The man murmured to himself.

With a billow of his black cloak he seemed to disappear from sight.

***

Calvus managed to wriggle out of Aranwen's arm when they got in the Chapel. The only life inside was an Altmer priest, sitting on one of the wooden benches reading a holy text.

"What are you going to do?" whispered Aranwen.

"Try and pick the Gauntlets up." Calvus whispered back.

_Why did you have to whisper in Chapels anyway?_, Calvus thought as walked over to the Gauntlets on the chapel floor, surrounded by bouquets and candles.

Calvus bent down to pick them up. He got a grip and pulled with all his strength. After three vain attempts, he gave up. Well that plan failed, so what now?

"I see your trying to pick up the Gauntlets, Crusader." A calm voice behind him said.

Calvus spun round to see the Altmer priest standing behind him, with a slight smile on his face and the book he had been reading under his arm. He had obviously seen attempts to pick up the Gauntlets before.

"How do you know who I am?" Calvus asked, realising the stupidity of the question only a few seconds afterwards.

"Oh the fancy armour, the Red Diamond, the fact that everybody has been shouting about you since you got here." The Altmer said.

Calvus looked the priest up and down. He looked quite young, for an Altmer anyway. He was wearing a grey robe, and had some spectacles on his nose that he swiftly transferred to his pocket.

"What is your name sir?" Calvus asked graciously.

"Areldur, Sir Knight, I am pleased to meet you, and see that you are just a person in good armour rather than a semi-God."

"Likewise" Calvus said, not sure whether this was a compliment or not. "Now Areldur, can you tell me how I could pick those Gauntlets up, so I can be off and fight the evil that is desecrating our chapels?"

Areldur looked at him for a few seconds in deep thought. He then looked as if he had come to a decision.

"Well," he began "Many years ago, the Holy Knight that possessed those Gauntlets slew a beggar on this very spot. As soon as the beggar hit the chapel floor, Stendarr placed a curse on that Knight, and the Gauntlets just fell off his hands. The curse was passed down through the Knights lineage, making all of them tired physically and mentally. While this curse still exists in their family, no-one can lift those Gauntlets. Poor Kellen…"

"Kellen?" Calvus inquired.

"Oh he is one of the Knights descendents, poor man. He came here all the way from Hammerfell to see if there was someway to lift the curse. Its such a shame how people can be cursed through no fault of their own. He's downstairs in the hall if you want to see him."

"Thanks." Calvus said.

He then noticed Aranwen asleep on one of the wooden benches. _She must have been giving that dummy a right seeing to_, Calvus thought.

"Don't suppose you could give her a blanket could you?" he asked.

"Of course." Areldur replied.

Calvus went down the stone stairs and though the wooden door that led into the hall. He opened the door to a side room, and found a young Redguard sitting on a bed, staring into space. He jumped at the sight of a fully armoured man entering his room.

"Relax!" Calvus said. "Areldur sent me down here, to help."

"Help?" Kellen snorted. "That's a kind offer stranger but no-one can help me. Not even you in your fancy armour. "

"I might be able to, you never know," Calvus said. " Why don't you tell me what has happened? Start from the beginning."

After a suspicious glance Kellen decided it would do no harm to recount his tale. His long journey from Hammerfell had taken weeks, and had tired him beyond measure. When he reached Chorrol, he had tried to lift the Gauntlets until his whole body ached, so he gave up and was staying here only through the kindness of Areldur's heart.

"But…I don't know…I feel that there is something he isn't telling me, he knows something that I don't." Kellen finished.

"I see," Calvus said. "Would you like me to find out what he isn't telling you?"

"I would be most grateful if you did," Kellen replied.

"I'll be back once I've found out." Calvus said.

After a thank you from Kellen he made his way up the stone steps back into the Chapel and confronted the Altmer.

"Anything else you need?" Areldur asked.

"What is it you are not telling Kellen?" Calvus asked swiftly.

Areldur looked taken aback by Calvus' sudden question.

"I-I…he…you see……I…K-…" He stumbled over his words, stuttering, until he finally took a deep breath and sat down on a bench, his head in his hands.

"I am such a fool!" He said. "A cowardly, horrible, small minded fool!"

"What? Why?" Calvus asked in surprise.

"There…" The Altmer regained his composure. "There is a way to lift Kellen's curse. Somebody must pray to Stendarr, for him to grant the power to lift the curse, but the curse shall then be placed on the one who prayed for it to be so. And I…I cannot build up the courage to do so I am afraid. How in the name of Stendarr can I call myself a priest?"

He put his head in his hands again, and behind them Calvus could tell he was sobbing. He patted the Altmer on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it." Calvus reassured him. "I'll do it!"

"Thank yo- wait what??" Areldur looked up at Calvus in surprise, his last tear fell down his cheek and landed on the cold stone floor.

"I'll take on the curse for Kellen." Calvus said simply.

Before Areldur could react or say a word, Calvus was kneeling at the Alter praying to Stendarr, asking him to lift the curse and place it on himself. When he opened his eyes and looked at his hands, he saw that they were glowing with a dim blue light. He sprinted downstairs, threw open the Chapel hall doors, and ran up to Kellen. He placed his hands on Kellen's shoulders, and the blue light left his hands and engulfed Kellen. After a few seconds the light faded, and Calvus could see the look of shock on the Redguards face.

"What did you just do?" He asked in bemusement, "I…no longer feel tired…I don't feel like sleeping…I feel…I feel like running!!"

Kellen jumped up and sprinted around the room, then shot out of the door, and did three laps of the Chapel hall, before somersaulting over a table and landing square on his feet.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" He cried, before doing another lap, laughing as he ran.

Calvus walked out of the hall smiling to himself, and into the main chapel. He went over to the Gauntlets and looked at them. They looked different, they were slightly more metallic and had a barely noticeable white glow. Calvus took off his steel gauntlets, and to the astonishment of Areldur, picked the Crusader's Gauntlets up and slid them onto his hands.

"See, no trouble at all!" he said.

Then the curse he had taken on hit him like a brick. Calvus felt tired, so tired. He was fatigued, and this armour was heavy and…

His armour made a rather comical _'clang' _on the stone floor as he lost consciousness.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- Restoration

Calvus awoke to two elven faces looking down at him. One was Aranwen, the other Areldur. Calvus realised his position, he was lying down on the stone floor of the Chorrol chapel, unable to move from the curses effect.

"He's awake! Calvus are you alright?" Aranwen asked with utmost concern.

"No…" Calvus said in a weak voice.

"Stay there Sir Knight, I'll get something to help you!" Areldur said, running into the chapel hall.

"Well what else is he going to do?" Aranwen called after him. "Don't worry you'll be okay." she said to Calvus, turning her attention back to him.

Calvus had never really had the chance to look at Aranwen's face for an extended period of time. Back in the Fighters Guild he would only look at her briefly at her face from across the dining table, then turn away when he knew she had caught his glance. It was stupid really but hey, it made him get out of bed. But now, lying down on the floor unable to move he had an opportunity to study her face further. 'Study' wasn't the right word, more like 'Admire'. Her face was slim, but not gaunt, and her skin was a nice shade of light pink. She had deep brown eyes, eyes in which he could see concern and love. Her long brown hair went down to just below her shoulders, but was always tied up when she was on a contract. The Guild seemed such a long time ago…

"Why are you staring at me?" Aranwen asked.

"Err …I wasn't." Calvus mumbled.

"What were you thinking?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, actually I was thinking how beautiful you are." stuttered Calvus.

"Oh..." she said as a bright pink flush rose up her neck to her cheeks "I think that curse must be affecting your brain."

Calvus was about to dispute this but at that moment Areldur returned, so he decided to quit while he was ahead. The High elf was carrying a small purple phial in his hands. He popped the cork off with his thumb, and put the bottle to Calvus's lips. Calvus had no choice but to drink it. The potion tasted quite fruity, he could detect apple and orange as part of the ingredients. He then felt the potions effect, he felt not as tired or as weak. In fact after about twenty seconds, he felt normal. Areldur then offered him a hand, which Calvus took gladly. He was surprised at the Altmers strength as he pulled him up, he was wearing heavy armour after all.

"Thank you.." Calvus said. "What was that potion by the way?"

"One that fortifies fatigue," Areldur said, carefully placing the empty phial on a wooden bench. "It lasts for about a day Sir Knight, and I am afraid that is the only one I have. Once the affect wears off, you will tire considerably quickly."

"Damn! That means I need something to keep my fatigue fortified for a long time." Calvus said.

"I just might have an idea.." Aranwen chipped in, eyeing Sir Amiels ring on Calvus's finger.

Contumeliorus Florius was an Imperial in the Mages Guild, and was just about to go for lunch at the Oak and Crosier, when he heard somebody knocking on the door of the Guild Hall. He hadn't been outside today, despite the other townsfolk talking about this so called 'Divine Crusader'. Well if he did bump into this 'Crusader' he would have a thing or two to say to him! He had killed a few bandits, so what? The Legion guards who patrolled the roads did that and much more, and they didn't get all this attention! He opened the door and almost fainted.

"Good day citizen! I am the Divine Crusader and I was wondering if you could be of a service to me?" The figure at the door said.

Contumeliorus stepped back, his mouth open. _This 'Crusader' guy may be something to shout about after all, just look at his armour!_, he thought. But then he remembered his previous thoughts about the Crusader only a few moments earlier, and prepared an offensive.

"Your nothing but a stuck up bastard who does so called 'good deeds' while wearing shiny armour! There's nothing special about you at all!" he said.

But even as he said these words, he was questioning himself of their truthfulness, or why he was actually saying them. This guy did not only look impressive but dangerous. He had a silver shortsword, and was holding its hilt. Well he had done it now, he was going to be killed by this Knight in shining armour. However, to the mages surprise, the Crusader said:

"Oh I agree with you wholeheartedly my good man! But what we can we few do against so many?"

He stepped aside to reveal a large group of Chorrols inhabitants looking at the Crusader and what he was up to. Some people were even waving at him and shouting compliments. Contumeliorus had just been bested spectacularly. He begrudgingly let the Crusader in, and closed the door behind him.

"Well what do you want?" he asked

"You work with enchanted items?" the Crusader asked.

"I enchant 'em and recharge 'em" he said

"Then could you do me a small favour? Could you enchant this ring to fortify the wearers fatigue?" the Crusader said, placing a golden ring with a red diamond shaped stone on a wooden counter. Contumeliorus said: 'Tthhhh' It was one of those noises that traders and blacksmiths made when something was going to be expensive.

"Let me see, its harder to enchant it when its gold, then there's the soul gems, the souls aren't as good as they were you know. The Magetallow candles are going to need replacing on the alters and-" he began.

"Could you just tell me how much please?" The Crusader interrupted.

"2000 gold" The mage said.

"Could I persuade you to go lower?"

"It would require some great persuasion I'm afraid"

"Okay okay, 250 gold!" Contumeliorus said half an hour later.

"Done!" Calvus said beaming.

"And you won't tell anyone?"

"Not a soul.."

It wasn't blackmail, Calvus decided later, he was just extremely good at persuasion. He shook the mages hand, who took the ring, placed it on an alter with a soul gem, and set to work. Calvus leaned against a wooden table and watched him with interest. It was at that point Aranwen and Areldur entered the Guild hall. Contumeliorus ignored them, but Calvus greeted them with a smile.

"Hi! I see your making use of my idea then!" Aranwen said to him.

"Well it was a good idea!" Calvus said.

He then noticed Areldur standing a few feet away from him, looking quite sheepish.

"Something up?" he asked.

"Well it's this, Sir Knight" Areldur replied with honesty. "I could not take on the curse for Kellen because of my own cowardice. Yet you took it on without hesitation, willing to sacrifice your health for someone else. It is because of this I am beginning to question my own position as a priest. I now realise I need time to think, Sir Knight, think about my position and my future. I need some time alone, so if you will excuse me, I will take my leave. I hope we may meet again."

"So do I." Calvus replied.

With that, Areldur nodded at him, then went out of the door.

"What a nice person!" Calvus said after the door closed.

After about twenty minutes Contumeliorus finished. Calvus handed over 250 gold and put the ring on. The curse he had inherited was almost swallowed up by the feeling of energy he got from the ring. He then said his farewells as he and Aranwen went out the door of the Mages Guild.

"Well where are you going now? Now you've seen me and got the Gauntlets?" Aranwen asked.

"Probably back to the Priory of the Nine in the West Weald." Calvus replied. "Want to come?"

He could see genuine excitement in Aranwen's face.

"Of course I do!" she said beaming.

He took her hand and led her through the streets of Chorrol. When they were nearing the main gate he encountered someone he had been hoping not to meet.

"Aranwen! What are you doing with this…Oh my…" Modryn Oreyn said.

Calvus turned his head quickly so Modryn couldn't see it was him through the Helm. Calvus would have preferred to meet anybody, including Umaril himself, rather then Modryn Oreyn. Umaril could just kill you. Modryn would browse the Fighters Guild charter for hours, and would probably find a rule that would say: 'Thou shalt not become a Holy Knight without Guildmaster's consent.' or something similar. He would then punish Calvus accordingly, meaning 100 push ups in the morning for a week and a temporary demotion, and would generally shout at him until he was fit for promotion again.

Luckily, Modryn didn't recognise him through the Helm, and instead said to him:

"Are you the Divine Crusader?"

"Er…yes!" Calvus replied, trying to disguise his voice.

"And where are you taking one of my men?"

"To my priory in the country. She needs a break." Calvus said with his disguised voice.

Modryn then looked at Aranwen, who nodded quickly.

"Fine, we have no contracts anyway." he said.

Inside, Calvus sighed in relief, but his fear was restored when Modryn said:

"Just one more thing Crusader!"

_Bugger! He knows!, _Calvus thought, preparing himself for the worst.

"Could I have an autograph?" Modryn asked, producing a piece of parchment and a quill.

Calvus took the quill hesitantly, then signed the piece of paper and gave it back.

"Thanks!" Modryn said, then walked off.

Calvus and Aranwen waited until they were outside the gate before they burst out laughing.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- Assassination

Tiber thundered down the black road at a great speed, despite carrying the weight of two. Aranwen clung onto Calvus as the trees of the Great Forest rushed past.

"What's the rush!?" Aranwen shouted above the sound of Tiber's hooves and the speeding foliage.

"None, Tiber just likes to go fast." Calvus said quite calmly over the din.

Weynon Priory went past in a flash, as did Odiil Farm, several Aylied Ruins and many old grey stone forts of the Legion. When Tiber decided to slow down, they had covered quite a distance. They set up camp and slept under the stars for the night.

***

Ten miles behind them in the darkness, the black cloaked figure casually leaned on a tree in the forest just off the edge of Chorrol. He couldn't have killed the Crusader, not while that damn Fighters Guild champion was about, even though he was getting an autograph. And that horse was bloody fast. He didn't even have time to get the throwing knife out of its sheath before the horse was out of its range. The only thing he could do was wait for a horse, and he could be patient.

He could hear a horses hooves in the darkness, and see the faint glimmer of a torch in the distance. This was it. He stepped out into the middle of the road and waited. After no time at all, the horse came within 20 feet of him and stopped.

"Your horse or your life." The cloaked figure said.

"Er…my horse! My hor-" The lone riders sentence was interrupted by a violent blue flash of lightening from the black cloaked figures hand, and she fell from her saddle.

The black cloaked figure smiled. He loved to tease them before they died. He went up to the body of the female Bosmer messenger and whispered in her unhearing ear:

"May you serve Sithis well in the void"

He then took the saddlebags off of the horse, and threw then next to the body. Black Horse Couriers tumbled out and blew away in the wind. The figure mounted the black horse, dug his heels into its flanks with a cry of 'Hyah!' and rode off into the night.

***

As Tiber trotted up to the Priory, Calvus noticed two more horses in the stable. _Strange, we have visitors_, he thought. He dismounted, and lifted Aranwen off. He left Tiber in the stable, and went into the main building. As he walked in, he was startled by the dust, or rather, the lack of it. Sir Avita and done a really good job of clearing up. He went upstairs, followed by Aranwen, and noticed a few extra beds around. They hadn't been there before.

"Sir Avita!!!!!" Calvus bellowed.

"Yes sir?" Avita said as she walked out of a side room. She was wearing chain mail armour and a Knights of the Nine cuirass. She must have found it in the basement.

"Where did you get these beds?" Calvus asked.

"Oh, I found them in the attic, and got them down. One isn't enough for the whole priory!" she said with a smile.

"Wait, you got them down by yourself?"

"No, I had the help of these fetching young Nord lads!"

Two Nord twins, both about 25, appeared from the side room, both dressed alike in iron plate armour and carrying a steel claymore each. They had longish light blonde hair, and if their muscles were any bigger, they would have poked through the armour. They were covered in dust.

"Ah..." Calvus said. Well that explained the two extra horses.

Before he had a chance to say anything else, one of the twins stepped forward and said to him:

"Sir, my name is Gukimir, and this is my twin brother Geimund. We have come all the way from Skyrim to offer our services to you. We wish to help dispose of Umaril the Unfeathered and his minions, in order to stop these attacks on our chapels. Will you take us into your service?"

Both of them then took their claymores off their backs, which almost gave Calvus a heart attack, but relief came to him when they knelt and had their swords pointing towards the ground.

_I'd be a fool not to take them into my service_, Calvus thought as he drew his silver shortsword, and knighted them both.

"Arise Sir Gukimir! Arise Sir Geimund!"

Both Nords rose and thanked Calvus, before going down to the basement to change into the same armour as Avita.

"Does this happen to you every day?" Aranwen asked Calvus.

"Yup" he replied "Now excuse me while I talk to the dead knights downstairs."

He turned his back and went into the basement, past Gukimir and Geimund searching through cupboards and chests for armour and into the crypt. He went into the middle of the ring of dead knights and spoke to Sir Casimir. He told him of how he claimed the Gauntlets, and how he dealt with the curse with an enchanted ring. Casimir was impressed, and thanked Calvus for lifting the curse off of his family.

"Excuse me Crusader?" A ghostly Nord knight asked as Calvus finished his conversation "Can I have a word?"

"Of course!" Calvus said.

"My name was Sir Henrik, and I safeguarded the Shield of the Crusader. Before I died, I left the shield in Fort Bulwark, under the care of the Guardians of Julianos. To my knowledge it is still there, untouched by the years."

Calvus took his map out of his pocket. As he expected a ghostly blue cross appeared on it, in the Blackwood region of Cyrodiil.

"Thank you Sir Henrik. I will travel there immediately, I don't like this shield anyway." Calvus said.

"Wait Crusader!!" Sir Amiel bellowed before Calvus could make a move.

"What is it?"

"There is danger outside. I can sense it!"

"How?"

"It's a ghost thing! Just don't go outside!" Sir Amiel warned him.

Calvus took the steps three at a time. He got to the top floor and looked out of the window. In the trees, he could see three figures, one wearing black robes, the other two wearing what looked like enchanted leather armour and dark purple hoods. Aranwen ran up to him, followed by Sir Avita.

"What's wrong?" Aranwen asked, full of concern.

"Its…Assassins." Calvus replied "The Dark Brotherhood I think. But its okay, we outnumber them."

Each figure then raised their hands into the air. Red light ran like a ribbon around their arms, and after a small cloud of crimson, two Flame Atronachs and a Frost Atronach appeared beside the figures."

"Bugger." Calvus said "TO ARMS, TO ARMS, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12- Besieged

The Daedra were deadly and magnificent to behold. There were many different varieties. You had the Daedra Lords, such as Sheogorath or Azura, that were as if not more powerful than the Nine Divines. Then you had Daedra that were quite similar to men and mer, such as the Dremora or the Golden Saints. Then there were the lesser Daedra, creatures that you would only find in the sixteen planes of Oblivion. The frost and flame atronachs were Daedra usually found in Mehrunes Dagon's plane of Oblivion, a place filled with lava rivers, hard black metamorphic rock and rains of ash from the sky.

The frost atronach was a tall creature, almost the height of two men, with a huge bulky torso, and arms and legs the thickness of tree trunks. Its head was small compared to the rest of its body, and it had two glowing blue lights which acted as the creatures eyes. The entire thing looked like a terrifying ice sculpture, and when the creature moved you could hear the sound of ice grating against frost.

The flame atronachs were smaller, about a head taller than a normal man. The creatures looked as if there were made of molten rock, which stayed in shape through some unknown force. They were quite feminine in shape with a small waist, and the metal armour they wore had space for breasts. This was more for decoration than necessity, as Daedra do not reproduce like the mortal races. The armour was quite thin and covered the top of the creatures chest and their pelvis. The top of the creatures head was slightly pointed, and the lava had a texture similar to that of hair. The creatures had no eyes, but had a small metal decorative cover where its mouth would have been, giving more shape to the face. These creatures like many Daedra, were amazing to look at, but extremely dangerous.

As soon as Calvus had called, Sir Gukimir and Sir Geimund came sprinting up the stairs from the basement, claymores in hand.

"Barricade that door!" Calvus ordered them.

Both Knights took various pieces of furniture and started to strengthen the door with them. While this had been going on, Aranwen had strung her bow, and notched an arrow. She opened a window and took aim at the assassins. Unfortunately for her, they had spotted her, and each cast a chameleon spell simultaneously.

"Damn!" Aranwen cursed. "Their using chameleon spells!!"

"Fire at the Daedra then! That includes you Avita!" Calvus yelled.

Aranwen fired numerous arrows at the creatures of fire and frost, but the best she could hope to achieve was to slow them.

The huge frost atronach had already made it to the door, and swung a huge ice covered fist at it. The barricade took the blow. Suddenly fireballs flew at Aranwen, she ducked just in time. They hit above the window, and made the mortar in between the stone bricks bubble. Calvus was helping the Nords with the barricade, trying to withstand the strength of the atronach. Sir Avita opened another window, and fired a powerful frost spell at a flame atronach.

***

Delvin Atrimus was quite smug with himself. Delvin, his murderer comrade and their executioner commander, had cornered the Divine Crusader in his own priory! The Dark Brotherhood would most certainly give him a promotion for this, after _he _killed the Crusader.That Fighters Guild scum couldn't even hit them with her arrows! Well not since they had used their chameleon spells. Even as he thought these thoughts, the executioners frost atronach was breaking in, then they would rush in and kill the Crusader pretender!

To Delvin's shock, a frost spell, cast from another window, hit his atronach. The creatures fires died down, what had once been glowing was now like black charcoal. The Daedra fell down, and faded into nothingness as it went back to the waters of Oblivion. Well he would soon see about that! He raised his hands, and said the words to summon another atronach. As the red ribbon of light went around his arm, he thought: _Wait, this means they can see m-…_

His thought was interrupted by a steel arrow penetrating his skull.

***

"I got one of the bastards!!" Aranwen shouted above the din of ice on wood.

"Keep it up then!!!!" Calvus called back.

_Well one of them is down, but there are still two more out there,_ he thought. The atronach outside hit the door, there was rumble and splintering of wood. The door would not last long.

"Aranwen, Avita!! Get away from the windows!!" Calvus commanded.

Both women came down the stairs, Avita drawing her sword and Aranwen readying another arrow.

"Right here's the plan!" Calvus said.

_BANG!_

"We try to fight that thing and the assassins off-"

_BANG!_

"And when I deem it useless to resist anymore-"

_BANG! _

"We retreat into the basement."

_BANG!_

The Knights and Aranwen nodded in agreement.

_CRASH!!_

The door burst open, sending shards of wood flying. The huge frost atronach battered away the obstructing furniture in mere seconds, but was met with the angry blades of Sir Gukimir and Sir Geimund. They hacked at the creature, ducking and weaving from its deadly fists. Both Calvus and Avita cast basic flare spells at the creature, but they did little to weaken it. Aranwen fired her bow at its head, but all her sharp arrow did was create a small chip in the middle of the atronach's icy forehead. This thing was almost unstoppable.

Suddenly a knife came out of nowhere, flying towards Aranwen's head. She ducked, the knife just nicking her long ear. Then the thrower of the knife was revealed, one of the assassins had managed to sneak in among the chaos. Calvus could tell it was the surviving lower ranked assassin, as he was wearing a purple hood. The hooded man pulled a steel shortsword from his side and set upon Calvus.

Calvus had fought many hostiles in his time as a Fighters Guild member. Marauders were quite clumsy in their fighting style, as they had heavy weapons and armour that they didn't quite know how to use. Bandits and highwaymen fought with quick strikes, as they were overly eager to get the money from your corpse. This was often their downfall. Creatures such as wolves and bears fought fiercely, but were often open to attack. Calvus had even fought one or two thieves, their fighting style was quite fast but weak, because they would rather get away than kill you. But Calvus had never fought an assassin.

The man held his sword in an overhand grip, which was not common among the outlaws of Cyrodill. His sword movements were quite fluid, and were a mixture of fast and slow, to try and trick his opponent. Well he would most definitely find Calvus a challenge!

The assassin's sword blurred as he aimed a backward slash at Calvus's neck. Calvus quickly parried with his shield, and counterattacked with a strike to the assassins stomach. Unfortunately for Calvus the assassin dodged, so the silver shortsword only met thin air. The man drew a knife from his belt in a flash, and Calvus's side was open to his attack. His knife plunged towards Calvus, who tried to dodge, but in his Crusaders armour he was not nearly as agile as the assassin. The knife blade ended up merely scratching the Cuirass of the Crusader.

At this very moment in time, Sir Gukimir and Sir Geimund were tackling the frost atronach, with little success, and Sir Avita and Aranwen were keeping the flame atronach busy. Calvus had no help, and if he was not careful, one of those loyal to him would die.

The assassin was rather surprised to see that his knife did little damage. He was also surprised when Calvus brought his blade down across the assassins chest with all his strength, cutting the leather armour open, making blood pour out. The murderer staggered back, dropping his shortsword. Calvus thrust his sword forwards through the assassin's heart, who screamed as Calvus withdrew his blade. He fell to the ground, dead. The flame atronach faded as its master had died, but the frost atronach still stood strong.

"RETREAT!!!!!" Calvus commanded.

He ran to the basement door and threw it open. Sir Avita and Aranwen made it through immediately, but the Nords were still fighting the atronach.

"GET OUT NOW!!" Calvus shouted at them.

With that command, Sir Gukimir made a huge strike with his claymore at the ice creatures neck, making it stagger back from the shock. The brothers then ran to the door while the creature was still reeling from the blow. Once they were in, Calvus slammed the door and bolted it.

"Into the Crypt! Quickly!" Calvus ordered them.

They all ran through basement and into the crypt. Calvus did not follow.

"Wait! What are you going to do?" Aranwen asked him.

"Fight that thing!" Calvus replied.

"But it'll kill you!" Aranwen told him with panic in her voice.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Calvus please!!!"

"Just go. I'll kill that thing and then you'll all be safe…trust me."

Aranwen just looked at him with pain in her eyes, and slowly closed the door to the crypt.

"I love you" she whispered.

"I know" was the reply from the other side.

Calvus readied himself for the oncoming fight. The frost atronach, though weakened, was battering down the door to the basement. It made the torches shake in their brackets with each blow. With one final strike, the door caved in, and the frost atronach made its way into the room. Small chunks of it had fallen off, and some of the edges were beginning to melt, but it still had malice in its icy heart.

The battle was long, and the blows and parries many. Calvus dodged the fists, ducked and weaved, but he was tiring, and the Daedra was unwavering in its attack. Soon Calvus was hit by a large strike, which sent him flying into the far wall. The atronach slowly walked towards Calvus, readying itself for the final killing blow. Calvus looked around in desperation for anything to help, but it was getting closer. For lack of anything else, Calvus threw his sword at the creature. It hit it right in the chest, and was driven in to the hilt.

The atronach gave a deep rumble in surprise, and stopped to examine the flash of silver that had just stabbed it. It grabbed the hilt, and after a few tries pulled the sword out and examined it. The sword took a huge chunk of ice with it, leaving a hole in the atronach. The atronach became uninterested in the object it was holding, and dropped it. It looked at its prey. Calvus was holding a flaming torch, and was ready to throw.

"Oblivion take you!" he exclaimed, and threw the torch.

It hit home. It went into the hole that the silver shortsword had created, and made the ice creature flail around in pain. After several painful seconds of its deep rumbling screaming, it fell to the ground, and faded back to whence it came.

Calvus collapsed in exhaustion, relief and pain, and just looked at the ground. He then heard light footsteps on the stairs, and the sound of the person jumping the last two steps.

"Well well," the assassin said. "Look what we have here."

Calvus didn't look up. He could only see the bottom of the third assassins black robe and gold trimmed shoes. _This guys rich…and stylish, _he thought. He slowly began to crawl to the door to the crypt.

"Why…not kill me…in my sleep?" Calvus asked.

"Well I could have, but I probably wouldn't have a chance to get away from your blasted Knights. So I thought I'd do things a bit cruder and attack the place. Its more fun that way!"

"Dark Brotherhood…" Calvus said.

"Oh how did you guess?" The assassin said with a sarcastic smile, though Calvus didn't see it as he crawled towards the door to the Knights crypt.

"Who…wants me…dead?"

"Now now…that would be telling"

The assassin drew an elven knife from his belt and advanced on Calvus. By this time, Calvus had crawled to the crypt door, and slowly pushed it open.

"You do that in vain. It is time you went to serve Sithis, and time I get paid!" The assassin exclaimed.

Calvus crawled inside, into the dim light. The assassin calmly followed him, letting the adrenaline build up before the kill. He put one foot into the dank crypt.

"WHO DARES ENTER THE CRYPT OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE NINE!!!???" A voiced boomed.

The assassin looked into the ghostly eyes of Sir Amiel, and the other seven spectre knights that accompanied him, translucent weapons drawn and horrible smiles on their faces.

"Oh shi-" the assassin said.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13- Wisdom of the Ages

Tiber was glowing blue again as he trotted through the treacherous terrain of Blackwood in south east Cyrodiil. Calvus looked on through the blackness, occasionally steering his horse away from the small ponds and marshes. He used this time to look back on events.

The ghosts had torn the assassin to pieces. The black cloaked man didn't even have a chance to raise his shortsword in defence, not that it would have done any good anyways. Sir Gukimir and Sir Geimund took care of the bodies of the assassins, while Sir Avita and Aranwen took care of Calvus's injuries sustained from the fight. After eight hours and several restoration spells, Calvus insisted that he travel to Fort Bulwark alone, on the quest given to him by Sir Henrik. He was still slightly fatigued from the battle, and without the enchantments on his Crusaders armour he would have probably fallen asleep on Tiber's saddle.

He navigated through the trees. This part of Cyrodiil bordered Black Marsh, the land of the Argonians, so shared some of the provinces characteristics. The trees were tall and crooked. They had thick trunks, plastered with dark thick bark that was black in some places. Several ponds and marshes dotted the area, crawling with wildlife. Blackwood was one of the few places in Cyrodiil where you wouldn't encounter _anybody, _save the odd travelling Argonian. There were no bandit camps and no highwaymen, not even in the grey ruins of several Imperial forts that were rarely encountered.

Through the dark trees, Calvus spotted a solitary Imperial fort. It looked deserted. He cantered up to the arch, and in the stone were carved the words 'Fort Bulwark'. He secured Tiber to a tree, and went through the arch into the ruins.

***

The statue of the lucky old lady in Bravil lay quiet in the night. A middle aged Bosmer approached the statue, carrying a torch and a bow on his back. When the Bosmer stopped in front of the statue and waited, a harsh female voice whispered to him. That voice was the voice of the Night Mother. She was the spiritual leader of the Dark Brotherhood, some said she was the wife of Sithis himself. She listened to the people who prayed to her for other peoples demise, and relayed these 'requests' to the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. The Bosmer in front of the statue was the Listener and his name was Ungolim.

The Night Mother gave Ungolim the list of targets: bandits, businessmen, wealthy lords and skooma addicts. But finally she said:

"_One more thing listener…our friend in High Rock…his wish was not fulfilled…the Divine Crusader still lives! You will send a more effective assassin I hope?"_

"But unholy matron, I sent one of our best!!" Ungolim argued.

"_Then you will send a better one!!"_ The Night Mother said with scorn before falling silent.

Ungolim stepped away from the statue, shaking his head. This news troubled him. Not just because of the lost of one of the best assassins, but the threat of the Divine Crusader. If he could so easily kill one high ranking assassin in the Brotherhood, what about the rest of them?

He set of on the road to Cheydinhal, his head weighed down with worry.

***

Calvus looked around the circular wall surrounding him. Like many forts in Cyrodiil, the place was falling apart. The centres of the floors of the fortress had collapsed, leaving the building hollow with weather beaten walls.

Suddenly, he heard a hiss. It was too loud to be a lizard, yet it couldn't have been anything else in this area of the region. Then he looked up and saw it. A Scamp looked down at him from the first floor of the fort, and bared it fangs. Compared to the atronachs Calvus had fought hours ago, Scamps were kittens. However, they were still dangerous at a distance.

It cast a fireball at Calvus, who stepped aside. Some grass beside him burst into flames as the fireball hit. Calvus then sprinted up the stairs to the first floor, drawing his silver blade. When Calvus reached the floor, he saw the Scamp opposite him, along with a male Breton in blue robes, holding an elven dagger.

"Bloody Conjurers!" Calvus exclaimed as he dived out the path of another fireball.

The Scamp screeched as it ran round to engage Calvus in combat. Calvus picked himself up, only to dive to the floor once again to avoid a bolt of lightening cast by the Conjurer. The Scamp reached Calvus while he was still on the floor, and swiped at him with his claws. Calvus blocked the blow with his silver shortsword and clumsily bashed the Scamp with his shield. The blow made the Daedra stagger back. Calvus then swiftly leapt to his feet, performing an uppercut on the creature at the same time. With one final blow to the neck, the creature faded into the waters of Oblivion.

The Conjurer raised his hand to summon another Scamp. Calvus ran at the Breton, and with one swift movement cut his head off. Blood flowed from the decapitated corpse as it slumped to the floor. The half summoned Scamp faded back into Oblivion. Calvus sighed in relief and trudged back to the ground floor, He saw a brown oak door leading underground, which was blackened from spells.

_More Conjurers, and they probably forced their way in, _Calvus thought. _Better not put my sword away._

None of the common folk knew much about the Conjurers or their motives. Even the scholars and historians knew only basic information. It is mostly thought that the Conjurers were a group of bandit hedge wizards who got together to try to summon more powerful creatures that had not been reachable before. It is thought that they tried to bend the whole of space and time to summon people from the past and the future. They failed, and they blamed others for interfering (Like any mage that failed at something: it was always somebody else's fault), and hence became hostile to pretty much everybody.

Calvus crept into the ruins, trying to make as little noise as possible. The brackets on the walls held fresh torches, proof of recent activity in the fort. He made his way down stone corridors, past traps deactivated by the Conjurers and scattered bones of previous adventurers. The corridor opened up into a room which acted as the Conjurers headquarters, there were tables of food, books, scrolls and bedrolls on the floor. There were three Conjurers pouring over some tomes and talking about aspects of magika that Calvus could not understand. He knew he would be spotted sooner or later, so he decided to reveal himself and sue for peace.

"Erm….hello?" he asked as he walked into the candlelight.

The Conjurers spun around and got to their feet, drawing their daggers and maces.

"Look, I think we are both after the same thing, and I have knowledge of the other Crusader relics, so I could help you retrieve it and-"

Calvus ducked as three bolts of lightening were cast at him simultaneously. The wall behind him became blackened when the spells hit it.

"Well if that's the way you want it!" Calvus roared as he picked himself up and charged the Conjurers.

The three mages, a male Imperial, a female Breton and a male Altmer, were still fumbling for another spell scroll when Calvus reached them. He quickly ran the Altmer through the stomach, then withdrew his blade letting the dead elf fall to the floor, blood pouring away. He then turned and cut the throat of the male Imperial, who barely had a chance to swing his mace. In this time the female Breton had managed to cast a fireball at Calvus. Its progress was stopped by Calvus's shield, which became bent and blackened at the impact. Calvus then swiped at the Bretons foot, she yelped as she fell to the floor. Calvus pointed his blade at the woman's throat.

"I am going to make this simple. I ask a question, and you answer as best you can. If you try to attack me or escape, I kill you. Got it?" he said menacingly.

The woman nodded frantically.

"Now, why are you here!?" he asked in a forceful tone.

"W-we…wanted to get the Shield…to bargain with Umaril…for his Daedra…" the defeated Conjurer said, fear rife in her voice.

"I see. Now tell me how to get to the Shield!"

"T-there are puzzles and-and traps! We haven't got past them all! We're almost to the Shield but-"

"Okay, okay!" Calvus interrupted. "Just tell me how to get to the last puzzle."

The Conjurer jabbered on to Calvus about directions and how to get past certain traps. After she finished Calvus said:

"Thank you for your co-operation. Now go."

The Conjurer limped away through the tunnels as fast as she could. Calvus watched her go, then started walking.

He went through several winding corridors and ancient doorways until he came upon the first puzzle, a selection of stone panels on the ground. Following the Bretons instructions Calvus used the number of candles along the wall as a guide. He stood upon the correct panels, and the oak door in front of him opened.

He walked through some more corridors, until he came to the prison area of the fort. As he walked past the cages he looked in and saw the bones of prisoners. But as he came to the last cell, he saw a prisoner that was very much alive.

"Please help me!!" the Redguard pleaded.

The man was in his early thirties, and looked half starved. He was almost naked save for some sack cloth pants. Calvus took pity on the man and without question pulled a lever on the ground, which opened the metal gate that trapped him. The noise attracted the attention of several Conjurers in the next room. Calvus managed to dispatch them, suffering a dent in his steel greaves and a bruised arm in the process. The Redguard thanked him, then said:

"Wait I know who you are! You're the Divine Crusader!!!"

"Yup, that's me!" Calvus said, wiping his sword on one of the dead Conjurers robes.

"Look Sir Knight, if your after the Shield then I can tell you something I denied to tell the Conjurers, even after weeks of torture!" the Redguard said.

"And what would that be Mr…?"

"Er…the names Thedret, Sir Knight." the Redguard said. "Well I came out here to find the Shield, but before I came I did some research on Julianos. I found this passage: 'When the eyes of the Guardians are upon you, Julianos will show you favour'. It may help you in some way".

"Thank you Thedret, you have been of great help. I would advise that you leave, more Conjurers may be coming." Calvus said.

"Thank you Sir Knight!!" Thedret said before running back the way Calvus had come.

Calvus continued through the winding corridors and passages. He finally reached the puzzle the Conjurers were stuck on. As he entered the massive chamber, he saw a ring of statues on grand pedestals, lit by a huge chandelier from the ceiling. A large staircase broke the ring of statues, with a huge figure of Julianos at the top. But Calvus didn't have time to admire the architecture, he could hear some Conjurers arguing with each other.

***

Jureem was tired. These puzzles were getting boring, and he was tired of arguing with his fellow Conjurer. He was the Acolyte after all, and the leader of the group. He had solved all the other puzzles, but this one was getting tiresome.

"But sir! If we could only get some information from the prisoner! We could-" Jureem's fellow Conjurer argued.

"I don't care about that damn prisoner!! For all we know he knows nothing!! It is better we try to solve this riddle without him! It will make us stronger!"

The elderly Altmer sighed as he turned back to his scrap of parchment he had doodled solutions on. It had to be something with those statues, he was sure of it! His comrade went back to inspecting the statues, trying to decipher something from them. Suddenly he heard a scream and a body thud to the ground. He turned to see an armoured man pulling his silver blade out of the other Conjurer.

_Well this must be the Divine Crusader, _he thought. _This should be interesting. _

The Crusader charged at Jureem, waving his sword high. Jureem calmly took his staff off his back, andcast a spell at the charging figure. The shock spell hit the figure full on, sending him flying into the opposite wall.

"Very interesting" The Altmer said. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14- Conjuring Tricks

_This is going to hurt,_ Calvus thought as he flew towards the far wall. With a huge clang of steel and stone he hit it, before falling to the floor like a limp rag doll.

"Very interesting" The Altmer Conjurer said.

Calvus groaned in pain. He couldn't even look up at the elf, let alone fight him. All he could do for the moment was listen to his gloating.

"You are the Divine Crusader I presume? Of course you are! I can practically feel the Magika flowing off that armour. Surely only one chosen by the Gods could harness such power?! Well no, that is foolish superstition."

The Altmer turned back to his table, his eyes quickly darting over the tomes and texts that lay open upon it.

"The relics are fascinating objects. Yet you do not possess them all. I wonder if you are just another brute with delusions of grandeur!"

He looked at Calvus over his shoulder, and though Calvus could not see him, he could feel his old eyes piercing into him like knives.

"Who are you under that fancy Helmet? Who lays under the glorious cloak of steel? Are you a divinity sent to save Tamriel? What if you were some commoner? What would happen if your true identity was known? Or if you died? People would lose hope. Lords and wealthy men would try to take the title of 'The Divine Crusader'. The whole of Cyrodiil would descend into chaos while Umaril invaded. But… "

The Altmer paused, to collect his thoughts. Calvus finally gathered the strength to look up at the grey haired elf who questioned him. He wore the standard Conjurer robe, but he had all sorts of jewellery around his person. Golden rings and silver necklaces with defensive enchantments decorated him, reflecting the light of the braziers in the room.

"But…the stories could have some truth in them. Did you really reclaim that Helm from its underwater tomb? Did you really scare of four bloodthirsty bandits with one word? Can you answer that? _Crusader?_"

The last word was said with spite and loathing, and angered Calvus. But what angered him more was the realisation of the consequences of failure. If Calvus did die or his identity as a mere Fighters Guild member revealed, then Umaril would succeedin destroying the Nine Divines, and he would take Tamriel with them. That he could not allow to happen.

"I am beginning to doubt you have any power Crusader! I have brought you to the ground with one spell! Have you no strength left?"

Calvus ignored the Altmers words, and gathered all the strength he could find within him.

_***_

Jureem was having fun torturing the Crusader with the power of his words. Questioning his strength and his ability seemed to make him weaker and weaker. He would soon break him, and then he could take the relics, and study them, see if they could help the Conjurers. Trading them to Umaril seemed such a waste of power anyway.

"Do you fight for the so called Divines? Or just for personal gain? I can see into you Crusader, and I see weakness, I see frailty, and I see hopelessness. You spend far too much time fighting bandits and brigands when you could be fighting the minions of Umaril! Have you even seen one of his servants? Do you ever plan to stand against him? Or would you rather be a beacon of fleeting and fading hope to the doomed people?"

Jureem smiled as he saw the Crusader squirm. He could tell that he was causing him pain and anger. He would not last much longer. But then something happened that he did not expect, the Crusader said something.

"I fight for the Divines" he said as he slowly struggled to his feet. "I fight for the people. Whether I kill bandits or Umaril's servants, I still fight for them. Those stories you've heard, they're true. And to answer your other question…Yes I do have strength left!!"

With that the Crusader leapt forward, bringing his sword down towards Jureem. He barely had time to parry the blow with his staff. Nevertheless Jureem smiled.

"Your stronger than I thought! _Very_ interesting!"

***

With those words Calvus withdrew his sword from the parry and thrust it at the Conjurers chest. The Conjurer blocked again with his staff, quick as lightening. The Conjurer then knocked Calvus back, and spun around, using his staff like a club. Calvus blocked the blow at the cost of his shield. The force of the blow shattered the red diamond of wood and leather after many battles and continuous punishment.

_That's the second shield I've broken this month! _Calvus thought. The loss of his shield left his side open, but he was more agile without it. The Conjurer attempted to hit Calvus's open right shoulder, but Calvus grabbed the staff. The steel grip of the Crusader's Gauntlet ensured that he would not let go. The Conjurer tried to pull his staff out of Calvus's grip, but he was interrupted by a quick swipe to his right arm by Calvus's silver blade. The Altmer screamed at the sudden pain, and staggered back, letting go of the staff.

"Give up now and I will spare you!" Calvus declared.

"Fool!! Why do you think we are called Conjurers?" was the reply.

The elf raised his uninjured arm and said an incantation. Red ribbons of light ran round his robe sleeve. A huge swirl of red light appeared in front of him, and amongst it a roar could be heard. The red cleared to reveal a Daedroth, one the most terrifying type of Daedra. The creature was like a huge reptile standing eight feet tall. It a crocodile like head, huge claws that could kill a horse in one swipe and its thick scaly skin could prove a challenge for the sharpest sword. It roared. The sound of it rocketed around the room, bouncing all over the walls, making it sound as if there were ten of the creatures.

Calvus could see the Conjurer standing behind the Daedroth, grinning at his imminent demise. Calvus then came up with a cunning plan. With a spin of the magical staff that was still in his hand, he aimed the tip of it at the Conjurer. The Daedroth started to run towards Calvus.

_Kill, _He thought.

A storm of blue lightening erupted from the staff's tip, flashing passed the Daedroth and striking the Altmer in the chest. With a cry and a thump, the Conjurer fell to the cold stone floor, dead. The huge monster was only a few feet away from Calvus when it faded into nothingness.

Calvus threw the staff to the ground. A brief look at the Conjurers smoking corpse told him he was definitely dead. He ran his sword through the bodies chest, just to make sure. After wiping his blade on the robes of the dead Altmer, he sheathed his sword, and cast a few restoration spells. He then looked at the puzzle before him. Four statues, with a small stone plinth in the centre. On closer inspection, the statues had turn handles on their bases.

'_When the eyes of the Guardians are upon you, Julianos will show you favour'_

Calvus remembered the passage said to him by Thredret. He turned the handles, making all the statues face towards the central plinth. He stood upon it, and felt the stone descend into the ground. All the braziers in the room went out instantly, making Calvus jump. The only light left was a gloomy dim glimmer from the chandailier above. However, this light was sufficient enough for Calvus to see an opening in one of the smooth walls, an opening that revealed a long winding passage. Calvus walked over to the opening, and cautiously made his way into the darkness.

After some time he saw light at the end of the passage. He made his way out into bright blue torchlight , and upon an alter he saw the Shield of the Crusader. It was a red diamond, made of not wood and leather but steel and magic. There was a silver rim around the edge of the Shield, as well as two wings similar to the ones on the Helm. Calvus held up the shield in triumph. It felt just right in his hand, much better than his previous shield. It was like having his original steel shield back except it felt…better.

He saw an exit, and made his way towards it. After walking and stumbling through a winding passage, a door opened in front of him, leading into the open air. He took a deep breath, and was glad to be away from the stale and dusty air of the fort. He located Tiber and untied his faithful steed. The horse gave Calvus a look which said 'I've been worried sick, where have you bloody been?' Calvus patted the horse's nuzzle, which seemed to comfort him. Calvus climbed onto the saddle.

"Wait! Crusader!!"

Calvus saw Thredret running up to him.

"I don't suppose you could give me a lift? Or a knighthood? I can fight well, and I do serve Julianos!!"

"I can do both my friend!" He chuckled, and offered Thredret his hand.

Thredret took it, and Calvus pulled hi up onto the horse. With a cry of 'On Tiber!' they galloped off through the trees.

***

The journey was long and arduous, and tired both Calvus and Thredret. Nevertheless, they were in high spirits when they reached the priory. Calvus left Tiber in the stable, and noticed another horse he did not recognise. He went to the door of the priory and saw a figure sitting by it, reading a book. As Calvus drew nearer, he recognised the figure.

"Areldur?" he said startled.

"Crusader! You've returned! Erm…listen." the Altmer said as he stood up and snapped his book shut. "I did some thinking and decided I could serve Stendarr better as a Knight than a priest…so I have come to ask if you would have me in your service."

"Can you fight Areldur?" Calvus asked.

"I'm a dead shot with a bow and I have some fair skill with a sword." he replied.

"Thredret, Areldur, kneel" Calvus commanded.

They both did as he asked, kneeling side by side. After touching both their shoulders with his blade, Calvus said:

"Arise Sir Thredret! Arise Sir Areldur!"

Both men rose and thanked Calvus. He told them to get some armour on from the basement, then went inside. Calvus was tired beyond belief, he went up the stairs to the second floor and collapsed onto a double bed. He closed his eyes and slept like he had never slept before.

***

Under the cover of night Ungolim walked up to the well in Cheydinhal. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the grate that covered the well. He looked around for any guards and when he was sure there were none around, he slipped silently into the black, closing the grate behind him. He climbed down the ladder into the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary, where most of the Brotherhoods operations were carried out for Cyrodiil.

As Ungolim climbed down the ladder, there was silence. This was strange, as there was usually some sound that could be heard while climbing down. He could also smell something pungent, but he could not quite identify it. When he reached the bottom, he stepped in something wet and sticky. He looked down, and saw a pool of red liquid at his feet. He then identified the smell.

"Blood." Ungolim said. "Oh shit…"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- The Path of the Righteous

Ungolim took his bow off his back, and cautiously notched a silver arrow. He nervously stroked the feathers of the arrow as he crept into the main chamber of the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary. Only one torch was lit, and it illuminated little. However, what it illuminated chilled Ungolim to the bone.

The pool of blood he had stepped in was seeping slowly from the body of an Argonian murderer. It looked as if his chest had been ripped open, the enchanted leather armour providing next to no protection. He could see two other bodies. One was of an Orc wearing steel armour. Ungolim recognised this Orc, he had seen him before in the sanctuary. He had been one of the toughest and here he was lying dead on the floor with a huge wound in his side. Even at this distance Ungolim could tell that the Orc had been killed with an axe stroke.

The other body was slumped against the wall, yet unlike the others he seemed to be alive. He was an Imperial clothed in pitch black robes that were ripped and torn in places. Ungolim recognised this man and rushed over.

"Lucien?" he said "Lucien!"

The man looked up at Ungolim, blood dripping from his lip. He pointed to the darkness that surrounded them.

"Over…there…" he managed to say.

Ungolim looked round and saw in the black, three pairs of golden eyes. Quick as a flash, he drew his bow to full length.

"Who goes there!?" he said in a voice that sounded braver than he actually felt.

With those words, the central pair of eyes moved forward, and in the gloom Ungolim saw the rough outline of a creature. It stood seven feet tall, and looked as if it was wearing some sort of heavy armour. Even though he could see little of the figure, Ungolim could tell that it wasn't man, mer or beast. The creature moved closer. Ungolim could now see the pair of claw like golden boots, the richly decorated greaves, the scaly cuirass and the shining gauntlets of the creature. The golden helm was large, with three knife like horns jutting off at different angles. The helmet revealed little of the creatures face, save for the glowing pair of golden eyes, which made it even more terrifying. In its hand the creature held a bloody Aylied battle axe. The creature then growled, and with this growl Ungolim heard words inside his head.

"_The Divine Crusader is Umaril's prey, not yours or your Brotherhoods. Withdraw you interest in him now, or you will pay more dire consequences than you have already received."_

Ungolim lowered his bow slowly. The creature then let out a deep laugh and stepped back with the other eyes in the shadows. A huge flash of light blue burst into the room and faded almost instantly. The eyes had gone.

"Were…were they…Daedra?" Lucien asked.

"Yes" said Ungolim through gritted teeth. "Aurorans…"

***

Calvus awoke and instantly knew something was wrong. Someone had taken his helmet off and pulled the covers of the double bed over him. He quickly found the culprit, Aranwen was sitting on the end of his bed, a concerned look on her face.

"Hello" she said.

"Morning gorgeous" Calvus replied a little sleepily.

Aranwen gave him a small smile, then got up and knelt by the bed, her arms resting on the bed and her head upon them.

"I've been worried about you," she said "You've been working far too hard".

"Working?" Calvus said, now almost fully awake. "Who's paying me?"

Aranwen laughed then said "Your may not be earning gold, but you are earning the hearts and minds of the people you protect, which I doubt Modryn Oreyn will ever do."

"True" Calvus replied.

He threw the covers off, and saw the Helm of the Crusader resting on the bedside table. Sliding it onto his head, he felt its magical enchantments engulf him.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked.

"Almost a whole day." Aranwen replied.

"Bloody hell!" Calvus said in surprise "Anything happen while I've been asleep?"

"Yes actually," Aranwen said whilst she got up off the floor and sat on the bed again "A friend of Sir Thredret turned up a few hours ago and-"

"Let me guess, he wants to be a Knight of the Nine?" Calvus interrupted.

"Let me finish!" she said in a stern tone. "He is a blacksmith and wants to work here. I said yes on your behalf, you could do with a smith around the place you know. He is forging more armour and weapons as we speak. His name is Sergius I think."

Calvus looked down at the Crusaders armour and his steel greaves. They were scratched and slightly dented in places. His sword could have been in better condition as well.

"He'd better repair this lot then!" Calvus said, sliding the Helm off of his head "I need a bath anyway."

He then proceeded to take off the Crusaders armour under the watchful gaze of Aranwen, leaving only his woollen shirt and trousers on.

"There's some more…stylish clothes in the wardrobe." Aranwen said.

"I only wear these clothes with armour!" Calvus said in his defence. "It does chafe you know!"

Aranwen laughed, then watched as Calvus changed. She took note of his muscular chest and the bruises and scars upon it. Calvus saw her looking at him and said:

"These muscles didn't appear overnight you know…"

"I can see that…" she said almost mesmerised. "Where did you get all those scars?"

"Fighting." Calvus said simply. "Some scars are deeper than others."

Aranwen noticed a large burn mark on his shoulder, but decided to keep quiet about it. Calvus finished changing, gave her a kiss on the cheek, picked up the Crusaders armour and walked out of the room. Aranwen sighed, laid on the bed, closed her eyes and tried to sort out her thoughts.

***

Calvus bathed in a small pool not far from the Priory. The water was cool, but the sunlight was warm, creating the perfect balance of temperature. He lay back in the water and relaxed for the first time in weeks. This was one of the few moments of peace he got from fighting ghosts, bandits and other adversaries. He thought about and the things he had done, and the things he had yet to face.

'_I still need to find the mace, the greaves and more importantly, the sword. Where on earth could they be?' _he thought. _'And what happens when I finally do get all the relics? Will I get another vision? Will Umaril fall out of the sky? If he did, would I even be able to defeat him?'_

Since no voice in his head answered him, he decided to stop asking himself questions and get back to enjoying the water. After about an hour, he climbed out and dried himself off. Once dressed he made his way back to the priory, then downstairs into the basement. Before the place had been cold and gloomy, but now the roaring heat of the forge filled the room, as well as the blazing crimson light of burning coals. Calvus liked the change in atmosphere. He walked over and saw the Crusaders armour set out on a table, repaired, polished and gleaming as if they were new.

"Did I do a good job sir?" the new blacksmith asked.

"A good job Sergius? The armour looks better than when I first found it!" Calvus exclaimed, examining the Cuirass.

"Well I try my best sir" Sergius said shyly.

"And you best is better than I expected!" Calvus said. "I'm glad you came!"

Sergius smiled and then turned back to a steel blade he was forging. Calvus put on the Crusaders armour, and once again felt the magical enchantments engulf him. He then walked through the shabby wooden door into the crypt. The ghostly knights were still there, as always. Calvus walked into the centre of the Knights and held up the Shield of the Crusader in triumph. The Knights acknowledged this with a clap, especially Sir Henrik, who was beaming. After the applause died down, a ghostly Dunmer Knight approached Calvus.

"Crusader!" the elf said, "My name was Sir Ralvus, and I died trying to reach the Mace of Zenithar. Seeing as you have succeeded in retrieving the other relics I hope you have the faith and the willpower to retrieve this one."

"Do you know where it is?" Calvus said.

"In the Chapel of Zenithar in Leyawiin." Sir Ralvus replied.

"Its not stuck to the floor is it?" asked Calvus.

"No-"

"That's a relief!"

"It is not stuck to the floor Crusader, but it still may prove hard to reach. The tomb of Saint Kaladas is in the undercroft, and you must pray to Zenithar there. If you do, a vision will appear of the mace, across a deep chasm. You must leap from one side to the other to reach the mace. This test I tried many times while I was alive, but no matter how hard I tried I could not reach it. I do not know if you will be anymore successful."

"Thank you Sir Ralvus" Calvus said. "I will definitely try my best."

With that he left the undercroft for the ground floor of the Priory. He saw his living Knights talking with one another, about quests, fighting techniques, the Divines and other things. He would need their help in this matter.

"Knights of the Nine!" he said in his most commanding voice. "We have a little research to do! I need to get to the mace of Zenithar, and this requires me to leap across a deep chasm. Many have tried and failed, so I will not go gallivanting off to do the same. Do any of you have any information that may be of use?"

Calvus saw the Knights scratch their heads and whisper to one another, but none of them seemed to have a solution. After a few minutes Sir Avita stepped forward.

"Can I ask you Crusader?" she said. "Did any of the people who attempted this 'test' have any link to Kynareth?"

"Not a far as I am aware." Calvus said. "Why?"

"Because Zenithar is associated with Kynareth, as Zenithar's workers take and profit from the nature of Kynareth. They have some connection. Hence, the Boots of the Crusader you possess may provide the answer."

Calvus looked down at the Boots. Well it was logical and it made sense.

"Sir Avita you are a genius!" he exclaimed. "Thank you for your help my trustworthy Knights! I will return with the Mace of the Crusader!"

The Knights gave him a cheer as he went out of the door, which Calvus found flattering but slightly worrying, he wondered what they would think if he returned empty handed. At the stables he found Tiber well rested. He mounted and galloped eastwards. Aranwen watched him leave from the window.

"There he goes again" she muttered. "Galloping off without a word…"

***


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16- The Mace of Zenithar.

Calvus rode by the banks of the Niben, mud crabs and wolves giving him no trouble. Most of the many bandits in the area gave him a wide berth, save one. The female Orc leapt of the trees with a warhammer the size of a child, a bloodlust in her eyes. However, the bloodlust faded when she recognised Calvus, and instead of attacking him, she cast her warhammer aside and dived into the river to get away.

"Was it something I said?" Calvus shouted after her.

He continued along the banks as if nothing had happened, though in his mind he was reflecting on the important aspects of his life.

_A couple of weeks ago that bandit would have smashed my skull in without hesitation_, he thought, _yet here I am now as a symbol of hope for the innocent and a symbol of fear for outlaws. How did this happen? Oh yeah…Umaril…_

The rest of his journey went uninterrupted, and soon he was strolling though the streets of Leyawiin, receiving the amazed looks from passers by that he was so used to now. Leyawiin was quite a nice town, compared to Bravil at least. Though the ground was damp from the nearby marshes and river, the houses were well built and large, the walls of the castle stood firm and the smell was at least tolerable.

The Chapel towered over him, as did the images of Zenithar sculpted into the stonework. Calvus opened the old oak doors and strode inside. He almost bumped into a young brown haired Imperial wearing heavy iron armour and an iron longsword at his side.

"Oh sorry I-" the Imperial said before realising who Calvus was. "Wait! Your the Divine Crusader!"

"That I am!" Calvus said in response.

"I take it you're here for the Mace?" The Imperial said, eager for conversation.

"You would be right." Calvus said. "I will claim the Mace of the Crusader, and continue to fight against evil!"

He could clearly see the admiration in the younger Imperials eyes.

"May I ask you your name?" Calvus asked.

"My name? Er- Carodus. Carodus Oholin." The Imperial replied shyly.

"And why are you here?"

"Well…" Carodus admitted "I came here trying to retrieve the Mace, along with many other young hopefuls. I failed, but rather than sulk like the others who tried, I decided to take up my sword and guard the Mace from evil."

"That is very noble of you…"Calvus replied.

"Thanks!"

"Well I suppose I'd better go downstairs and get that Mace then."

"I think that would be wise. Oh, by the way Crusader, there are some undead down there, but don't worry, they won't attack you."

Calvus shuddered, but Carodus did not see it.

"Thanks for the warning." he said before walking away.

Yet his progress was stopped once again, this time by Kantav Cheynoslin, the Primate of the Chapel. He was a balding Imperial wearing rich black and burgundy clothing. Calvus could tell just by looking at him that he was stuck up and arrogant.

"You going for the Mace? Good luck." he said in a voice brimming with sarcasm. "Your no different from all the other hopefuls. I've seen dozens of young kids trying to pass the test, and _every_ one has failed. What makes you think you can succeed where others have failed?"

Calvus looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

"Because I am a generally nice guy." he said before leaving for the chapel undercroft.

As soon as Calvus closed the door the Chapel Primate muttered:

"Bloody holy knights, think they know everything."

***

It was cold in the undercroft. Several ghosts floated around the space, creating a rather spooky atmosphere. Calvus walked past them a little nervously, for his mind was cast back to the ghost he fought in Pelinal's shrine. He reached the tomb of Saint Kaladas, and knelt where dozens had knelt before him. He closed his eyes and said a prayer to Zenithar. He felt divine energy flow into him, and when he opened his eyes, he was in a different place.

Instead of the cold stone floor of the Chapel Undercroft, he was kneeling on the cold stone floor of what looked like a ruined Imperial fort. A doorway lay before him. He walked through it and stopped abruptly, for there was very little floor, covered in a dense green fog. A blanket of shining stars encased this small world, and a deep chasm was below him. Across the chasm was an island of stone. Upon the stone was an anvil, on which the Mace of the Crusader lay. The chasm was wide, and Calvus knew that he could not jump it. But then a strange thing happened.

The fog that surrounded Calvus gathered around the Boots of the Crusader, so it looked as if he had his own personal cloud. The fog then spread across the chasm, creating a bridge. Calvus summoned up his courage, and put one foot on the bridge of fog. Seeing as he did not fall, he quickly walked across the bridge, still not fully trusting this miracle. He reached the Mace and clasped it in his hand.

He felt the divine energy flow through him once again, and he found himself in the Chapel Undercroft, the Mace in his hand. Calvus had only a little experience with blunt weapons, but the Mace felt natural in his grip. He gave it a few experimental swings, and it sang through the air. He grinned and was about to put the Mace to his side, when he heard several screams and shouts from upstairs. He put the Shield on his back, pulled out his silver shortsword and sprinted back upstairs.

***

Kantav was miserable, like always. He was bored, and the 'Crusader' had been getting on his nerves. He was certain he would fail, and took joy in that thought.

Suddenly a huge blue flash filled the Chapel, blinding him. When his eyes came back into focus, he saw four great golden creatures, wielding huge Ayleid battle axes. He gave a cry of terror, as did the other inhabitants of the Chapel. Carodus had drawn his sword, but he cowered when one of the creatures stepped forward and roared. Inside _Kantav's_ head he heard the words:

'_By the power of Umaril, you will die like your false Gods!'_

The creature then rose its axe, ready to strike Kantav down. The Primate put his hands over his head protectively and waited for the blow.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- First Blood

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!"

Kantav risked a look, and saw the creatures axe frozen in mid swing a few inches in front of his face. The creature turned its head to look at the source of the voice, as did Kantav. He saw the Crusader standing tall and proud, holding two weapons. A silver shortsword and…no it couldn't be…the Mace of the Crusader.

The creature roared and swung at the Crusader, who jumped back, and threw his sword at the creature. The blade flew into its head, and it collapsed to the floor, black blood pouring from the wound. At seeing this the other creatures roared and chased after the unarmed Chapel priests and priestesses. Kantav knew this was going to be a bloodbath.

***

Calvus quickly readied the Shield and charged at another creature, screaming "For the Nine!!!"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Carodus regain his courage tearing into another creature. But Calvus had his own problems. He ran in front of a creature chasing a fleeing

Dunmer priest, giving him a chance to run. The creature looked at Calvus with its golden eyes and growled. He quickly smacked his opponent with the Shield, which did next to nothing. The creature did not stumble, in fact it barely moved. It merely counter attacked, performing a huge axe swing over its head. Calvus covered himself with the Shield, but the force of the blow sent him to the floor. The creature raised its axe for another swing, but Calvus rolled and struck the beast on the leg with the Mace. Surprisingly, the creatures leg did not just buckle, but became blackened and burnt at the Mace's divine touch. The creature howled and fell to the floor, barely alive.

Calvus leapt up and was about to help Carodus, but it looked as if the man had the fight under control. Calvus saw his fellow Imperial drive the spike of his shield into the creatures stomach, before hacking at its neck four times with his sword. The black blood stained man pulled the spike out of the creature, pushed it to the floor, and drove his sword through the creatures chest, just to make sure it was dead.

Calvus was impressed, but turned to concentrate on the battle at hand. He saw the remaining creature pick up a Imperial priestess by the throat, ready to crush her neck. He sprinted towards it, leapt up onto the creatures back, and hit it on the back of the skull with the Mace. The holy relic had a similar effect on this creature, making the head blackened and burnt. It emitted a small death rattle, and swayed before slumping to the floor, releasing the priestess. Calvus climbed off the creatures body and surveyed the scene.

All the creatures lay dead save the one he had crippled. Carodus finished it off with a hard blow to the neck. He was plastered with sweat, mixing with the black blood stains on his skin.

"What…were they?" he asked, obviously exhausted.

"Servants of Umaril." Calvus replied just as exhausted.

It was then they both heard the loud clatter of chain mail boots making their way into the Chapel. Three guards entered, swords drawn. They stared at shock at the dead bodies, then put their swords away.

"Just in time eh?" Calvus said to them.

"How did you-?" one of the guards started to say.

"Call yourself guards?! Where were you! If it were not for Carodus and myself, people would be dead!"

"Sir, please-"

"Don't 'Sir please' me!" Calvus said flying into a rage. "At least four guards need to be in this Chapel at all times, lest the minions of Umaril attack again!"

"Sir it is an offence to-"

The guard was interrupted again, but this time by Carodus.

"This guy just killed three of those creatures. Do you think that would be wise?"

The guard looked at the large bodies on the floor, paying close attention to the creature with Calvus' silver shortsword in its neck.

"Very well. I will inform the Count of your…request. After what has happened it will probably be granted, even though our guards are spread thin as it is."

"Tell him I would consider it a reward for terrifying all the bandits out of the area." Calvus said sweetly.

"I sure will.." the guard said in a tone that was not too pleasant.

The guard exited the Chapel, while the other two started to drag the bodies out of the Chapel doors. Calvus pulled his shortsword from one of the dead creatures and shook most of the blood off. The Chapel staff appeared from their hiding places, staring in awe of Calvus and the carnage he had caused. He spied the Chapel primate in a corner, looking quite ill. He walked up to him and whispered:

"You want to know what makes me think I can succeed where others have failed?"

He nodded towards the dead creatures.

"That. May the Divines guide you in the days to come"

The Primate said nothing, just looked at Calvus and nodded. With that Calvus strode out of the Chapel. Carodus followed him.

"Hey! Wait!" he called.

"Can I help you?" Calvus asked him, observing the hustle and bustle of guards and Leyawiin residents as they heard the news.

"Yeah um…Crusader...I was wondering…could I be a Knight of the Nine?"

Calvus turned around and looked at Carodus, smiling through the Helm.

"You showed great courage and valour in that battle Carodus, and you definitely know how to use a blade. I would be more than happy to accept you!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Carodus exclaimed, beaming.

"You may accompany me back to my priory, where I will knight you."

Calvus looked around. People were gathering in groups around him, just out of earshot, obviously discussing recent events.

"And I think now would be a good time to leave." Calvus said.

***

"_How many did we lose?_" The Night Mother hissed.

"Seven assassins overall unholy matron, and Lachance was wounded. He'll live." Ungolim replied solemnly.

"_And how many did they lose?"_

"I could only find one of their bodies. They were Daedra, Aurorans I believe."

To Ungolim's surprise the Night Mother laughed, which she seldom did.

"_It appears we have upset Umaril. Upset him enough so that he attacks us rather than one of the Chapels. Interesting."_

Her voice then went back to its usual deathly hiss.

"_This does not bode well. We have lost eight good assassins in the last week, and if we continue hunting the Crusader, it is likely we will be attacked again. We cannot afford that. We will leave the Crusader alone."_

"But Sithis demands blood!" Ungolim cried.

"_HE WILL GET BLOOD!" _The Night Mother said in a way that made Ungolim feel that his bones had turned to hot ash. "_The client who wanted the Crusader dead, our friend in High Rock. His blood will suffice."_

"It will be done unholy matron." Ungolim said respectfully and with a bow.

The statue fell silent, which was Ungolim's cue to leave.

***

Tiber wasn't too happy at carrying two heavily armoured bloodstained men on his back, one was hard enough to bear on his own. Nevertheless he still galloped on the road to the Priory, if only to take his mind off the load he was carrying.

Calvus found that he was getting to know this part of Cyrodiil very well. He now knew every rock and tree within five miles of the priory and it seemed that in a week he would know the whole of southern Cyrodiil like the back of his hand. He soon found himself in the all too familiar stable, tending to his horse. Carodus watched as Calvus patted the horses neck. In return Tiber decided to lean on his master.

"Hey!" Calvus exclaimed.

He gently pushed the horse so it was now leaning on the side of the wooden stable rather than Calvus' torso.

"He never does it when we are alone, only when I've got someone with me!" Calvus said in an irritated tone.

Carodus gave a small chuckle, which was swiftly followed by the twang of a bowstring and the sound of a wooden shaft rushing through the air. Calvus turned and saw an arrow vibrating in the wooden post next to Tiber. The horse turned its head and looked wide eyed at the arrow, before slowly shuffling to the other side of the stable. Calvus and Carodus simultaneously drew their blades and ran to the priory doors, fearing the worst. But then they heard voices coming from the backyard.

"Gukimir!" the voice of Aranwen said. "Did I say fire? No! Now go and get it, make sure you didn't kill something innocent and helpless!"

Calvus sheathed his blade and walked through the arch to the backyard. He saw Aranwen, her hands on her hips, glaring at a sheepish looking Gukimir foraging through some foliage. The other Knights were in the backyard as well, all of them holding bows and quivers full of arrows. Some archery butts had been set up and many red feathered arrows were protruding from them. However, many more were protruding from the ground, the wall behind the targets, an unlucky crow and most of the trees and bushes within fifty feet.

"Aranwen?" Calvus asked as he walked into plain view, "What's going on?"

"Calvus!" Aranwen exclaimed.

The Knights in the courtyard turned to look at him and Carodus, all obviously pleased to see him and his new companion. Aranwen ran up to him and hugged him tightly, deviously avoiding the question Calvus had put to her.

"That's nice, now what's going on?" he asked again.

"Well, I'd thought I'd make myself useful while you were gone! I decided to see how good your Knights were at archery. I must say Areldur is pretty good and Thredret as well. Everyone else is alright at it, except Gukimir, he's quite bad." she said at quite a speed.

Calvus struggled out of his embrace with Aranwen and walked over to Gukimir, who was still looking for his arrow.

"Sir Gukimir!" Calvus said cheerfully as Gukimir straightened. "Two things. One: your arrow is in the stables, embedded in a post somewhere. Two: Never pick up a bow and arrow again as long as you live, and that's an order."

"Yes Crusader!" Gukimir said, if a little relieved.

Calvus turned to the rest of the Knights and beckoned to them. They all came over to him and stood around him in a circle.

"Knights of the Nine!" he said as charismatically as possible. "Dark days are ahead. Blood has been shed in the Chapel of Zenithar in Leyawiin. The minions of Umaril have begun their assault on the Gods, and I fear before too long other Chapels may fall to them. You must all go to the Chapels and warn them, get the Counts and Countesses to post guards, do as much as you can to defend them! Sir Avita, you must go to the Shrine of Kynareth, for Umaril may strike there. Sir Areldur, you will go to Chorrol. Sir Gukimir, go to Kvatch. Sir Geimund, you will go to Bravil. Sir Thredret, you will go to Bruma. Carodus, once you are knighted you will go back to Leyawiin. This is the most imperative of all your duties. My Knights! Go with the blessings of Gods! For this is war!"

The Knights drew their blades and raised them high, cheering greatly. They bustled back into the priory, gathering belongings and provisions. Carodus stayed where he was, uncertain what to do. Calvus hastily knighted him, and directed him to the Priory basement. He then turned to Aranwen.

"Aranwen, you have done little since the attack by the Brotherhood, and I can see you are eager to help" he said eyeing the archery butts. "You will travel to Chorrol, and try to recruit the Fighters Guild to help us."

"Why not let Areldur do it?" Aranwen asked.

"Because Areldur is the High Elf from the Chapel that Modryn dislikes." Calvus replied. "Besides, he is more likely to trust one his own men than one of mine. The Guild is thin on contracts at the moment, so they will have plenty of men to spare. Ask Modryn, and the Guild master if you have to, to send men to the Chapel of Cheydinhal, and all the others. They can ask the Church for gold in payment of the Guilds services."

"But…what if the Church won't pay them? And what if Modryn refuses?"

"He won't." Calvus said. "I'll give him another autograph if I have to."

Aranwen laughed. It was then Calvus took off the Helm and dropped it to the floor. He held Aranwen in his arms and kissed her. It was better than the last time, she fitted his arms perfectly, as though she were meant to be there always. Then it was over. He put the Helm back on his head and bade her goodbye. She left with the Areldur, who promised to keep her safe on the journey. Calvus shed no tears behind the Helm, but he his heart was filled with unrest and anxiety.

He went back into the Priory, which was silent save for the hammering of the blacksmith in the basement. He took the Crusader armour off, leaving it on his bed and dressing in some simple woollen clothes.

_The creatures I fought in the Chapel…what were they? _Calvus thought to himself._ Time to do some research…_

He then went over to the bookcase in his bedroom, which was covered in tomes and books that had once been dust covered, but had felt the wrath of Avita's duster. Calvus found one book titled 'Umaril the Unfeathered', and made room on the bed for himself.

"This is going to take some time" he said to himself as he opened the book.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18- Knowing Your Enemy

Two hours had passed. A large pile of books had grown around Calvus' bed, encasing him in a wall of knowledge. Calvus himself was hunched in the centre of the pile, gripping one large book. His eyes widened, and he snapped the book shut. He kicked down the wall of books that surrounded the bed, leapt out and sprinted into the basement. The blacksmith watched him run past for a moment, then went back to his hammering.

The crypt door burst open, spewing forth Calvus clutching a book like it were a small child.

"Aurorans!" he cried to the bemused knights. "Very rare Daedra, not seen for thousands of years, considered legend, mythology, unreal! But they're not! Umaril has them!!"

He collapsed to the floor breathless, under the baffled gazes on the ghostly knights.

"Umaril has Aurorans?" Sir Amiel asked.

"Yes!" Calvus replied.

It was at that moment the knowledge Calvus had gained and his experiences all slid into place.

"Umaril is using these things, he attacked the Anvil chapel with them, and the one in Leyawiin. He is trying to make the Gods submit to him, bargain with him to stop the killing. But he won't, he will reduce them to nothing, make people loose faith in the Gods, and they will be destroyed. He will then rule over us, as he did so many years ago!"

The Knights nodded. Amiel tried to cut in, but Calvus continued.

"Which is why they sent the Prophet…He made me take the pilgrimage, turn me into a holy knight, a symbol of hope for the people. People will have faith in the Gods…because of me. Umaril needs to kill me to carry on with his plan!"

Then it sunk in.

"Shit."

"He won't kill you, if you reclaim the relics!" Amiel reassured him. "With those, you have a good chance of killing him, and stopping this chaos!"

"But that's what I need to do, reclaim the relics!" Calvus said quickly. "Very well, I will continue to do so, who knows the location of the Greaves?"

Silence. One or two of the Knights shuffled their feet.

"Well…?" Calvus asked.

"We…don't know" Sir Ralvus bravely said.

"What?!"

"The sword and Greaves were left in the care of another Knight. You can see that there are eight of us. There were originally nine. Sir Berich was one of the founders of our order, and he possessed the Sword and Greaves of the Crusader. He left for the War of the Red Diamond, but not before duelling with and slaying one of our own, Sir Caius. What happened to the relics after that…we do not know…"

The story gave Calvus great sadness for Sir Caius, and made him realise how tragic the breaking up of the first order had been. But sorrow was not the only emotion, anger and desperation were also present in his heart.

"So how do I find these relics ? Its not like the Greaves are going to turn up on the doorstep!"

"Just have faith in the Nine Crusader. That's all you need." Amiel replied.

"I do have faith!" Calvus argued "Its just…never mind…"

Calvus left the ghosts and went back up to the ground floor, sunk into a chair and sighed deeply. He then heard footsteps outside, getting closer to the door. A few seconds later there was a loud hammering on the door. Calvus became suspicious. The hammering continued as he retrieved his silver shortsword from the bedroom and strapped it round his waist. He then opened the door, one hand on the sword hilt. A young Redguard stood there panting, dressed in chain mail armour with a silver sword at his belt. He had something large wrapped up in cloth underneath his arm, and was bent over as if he had run a marathon.

"Are…are - you - the - Divine…Crusader?" the Redguard asked, exhausted.

"I am." Calvus said, looking at the man strangely.

The Redguard knelt and presented the object in the cloth to Calvus.

"Crusader, I bring you the Greaves of the Crusader!".

Calvus stared at the man in shocked silence.

"Your joking!" he finally managed to say.

***

Qa'Dar sprinted through one of the many woods of High Rock. The Khajiit leapt and dodged around trees and bushes with such accuracy that he did not suffer one scratch. After some time he reached the edge of the forest, and grinned. Through the darkness on top of a craggy hill, stood a small castle. The Khajiit looked at the parchment that had been given to him before the contract.

'_Your task is to assassinate Marsus Tullius, a wealthy Imperial nobleman, who resides in a castle not far eastwards of Camlorn. He requested an assassination that brought great danger to the Brotherhood, which I am sure you are aware of. The target is known to spend his evenings in the great hall of the castle, the top floor of which can be accessed by a low rooftop. Or there is always the front door. Good luck, and perform this assassination with the memory of our dead brothers behind you.'_

Qa'Dar had heard of the slaughter at the sanctuary in Cyrodiil, but he knew little of it. All he knew was that he would avenge the Brotherhood this night. He bared his teeth, made sure his poisoned dagger was safely at his belt, and sprinted up the hill. He came to the castle wall. This castle was more decorative than defensive, so Qa'Dar could climb up the outside wall quite easily. At the top, his Khajiit eyes could see no guards in the darkness. Perfect. He must have timed it just right.

He silently crept down some stairs into the courtyard. He found the rooftop that led to the main hall, and after scaling it, found an open window. He dived through it, landing on the large balcony over the great hall. A fire was burning on the far side, and above it were mounted heads of deer, trolls, ogres, even a cliff racer. Around the wall hung tapestries, suits of armour stood proud along the walls, and paintings graced almost every corner of the room. By the fire was a large armchair, with its back to Qa'Dar. He could see from this distance a figure slumped in it, sleeping. Several bottles of wine lay around the chair.

Qa'Dar grinned once again, and snuck down to the ground floor of the hall. The only source of light was the fire, he was in shadow the whole time. He got closer to the armchair, and stealthily drew his poisoned dagger. He was only a few feet away, and raised the blade.

A hand grabbed his arm from behind, another wrenched the dagger from it, sending it skittering across the floor. Qa'Dar had no time to react as a blow to his head sent him to the floor. Then an illumination spell was cast, and Qa'Dar could see his attacker. A brown haired Imperial in his thirties, wearing the fine clothes of a nobleman.

"You failed…" Marsus hissed. "The Divine Crusader still lives, and because your Brotherhood failed they decided to have me assassinated instead! I see that it is useless to rely on others! If you want something done, you have to do it yourself!"

Qa'Dar growled and leapt. He tumbled into Marsus, and both men fell to the floor. Qa'Dar was on top of the arrogant Imperial, and taking his chance he raised his hand to claw the mans neck. The motion was interrupted by a sharp pain to the Khajiit's side.

Qa'Dar slowly looked down to see a feathered arrow poking out of his rib.

"Where did you think all the guards were?" Marsus said softly.

Qa'Dar's vision went black.

Marsus pushed the dead Khajiit off of him. A Nord dressed in fur armour came out of the shadows, holding an empty bow. The figure in the arm chair got up, revealing another Nord in fur armour.

"Take care of the body, then gather your things. We ride for Cyrodiil in two hours." Marsus ordered.

The Nords nodded, and started to heave the body out of the hall. Marsus walked over to the poisoned dagger on the floor and inspected it.

"A good blade…" he murmured as he strapped it to his belt.

***

The Redguard whisked the cloth off the object, and there they were, the Greaves of the Crusader.

"Okay, who are you and how did you get these?" Calvus demanded.

The Redguard stood up.

"Of course, you don't even know who I am, I'm sorry, but my orders were to get these to you as soon as possible."

"Orders? From who?"

" From Sir Roderic of Wayrest, Hero of the war of the Bend'r-mahk. I am Lathon, and I am…was his squire."

Calvus had heard the name 'Roderic' somewhere, but he could not conjure an image of the man.

"Was? Tell me what happened. Start from the beginning."

Calvus led the man inside and gestured for him to sit down on a chair. Lathon did so, putting the Greaves carefully on the wooden table. Calvus brought some boar meat, bread and a cup of wine which Lathon quickly ate some of before beginning his tale.

"My master was horrified by the slaughter at the Anvil Chapel" he said between bites, "so took me and went there to hear what the Prophet had to say. He then went on a pilgrimage and started hunting for the Sword of the Crusader. We started hearing about you and your good deeds. I thought that would dissuade him from continuing, but it made him all the more determined to find it. He hoped to bring it to you, to prove himself worthy of being a Knight to serve under you. We found the location of the Sword. Underpall Cave- but we had to fight some undead to get to it as we expected. We finally got to the heart of the cave and found Lord Berich Vlindrel's coffin with the Greaves inside. But then a terrible Wraith appeared and…attacked. I think it was the spirit of Lord Vlindrel, and it had the Sword. It attacked Sir Roderic and…he shouted for me to run, to give the Greaves to you. I heard him scream as he died. I ran as fast as he could. That man sacrificed himself to save me…and help you…"

Lathon was almost in tears as he recounted his tale. Calvus had been listening intently. After Lathon finished, Calvus rose from the table and went upstairs, not saying a word.

Lathon waited patiently, still thinking about the recent death of his master and what he would do now. After a few minutes he heard the sound of metal and chainmail, and looked to see Calvus dressed in the full set of Pelinal Whitestrake's armour thundering down the stairs. He tightened the straps on the Greaves and adjusted the Helm.

"I'm going to go to Underpall cave and slay the Wraith that killed your master, and retrieve the Sword of the Crusader at the same time." he said.

Lathon looked on in awe at the set of armour, then swiftly stood up.

"I'm coming with you!" he said. "I want to avenge my master!"

"Very well, you shall come!" Calvus said.

"But can I ask a favour first Crusader?" Lathon asked, "May I become a Knight of the Nine? Its just that Sir Roderic wanted to serve under you, and I think it fitting that I serve under you in his stead."

"I will do so Lathon, in memory of your master!"

"Thank you Crusader!" Lathon beamed.

Lathon knelt and Calvus knighted him. After quickly retrieving some Knight of the Nine armour from the basement, the two men went to the stables. Lathon's horse was a kingly beast, and eyed Calvus cautiously, perhaps because it was under the suspicious gaze of Tiber who was not at all sure that he liked the competition. Calvus mounted Tiber and cantered out of the stables.

"Lead the way Lathon!" he declared.

Lathon's horse galloped off to the north east, and Tiber thundered after it in pursuit, determined not to be beaten.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19- Revenge and Redemption

Aranwen and Sir Areldur walked through the streets of Chorrol under the gaze of many of its residents. The recent commotion in the Chapel and the legend of the Divine Crusader was spreading. The red diamond on Areldur's cuirass and shield gave away his link to the Divine Crusader, and hence there were a lot of whispered conversations about him. A quiet priest turned into a holy knight? Impossible!

"I'll go on my own from here." Aranwen said. "Its best if I go to him alone."

"I understand." Areldur said. "I'll go to the Chapel. Farewell and good luck with Modryn!"

_I'll need it_, Aranwen thought to herself.

Areldur marched off to the Chapel, quietly smug at his shining armour and the astonished gazes of those that looked upon him.

Aranwen cautiously made her way to the guild hall, anxiety and dread flaring up in her. She didn't know why, but she was always nervous when she went to converse with Modryn alone. It was like poking a sleeping lion with a stick, as with both scenarios the result was unpredictable. He could brush off bad news like a fly, but then he could also roar and rant and punish just as easily.

She opened the door of the Guild hall to a horrible sight. Every single guild member was sitting down, in silence. No one was training. No one was debating loudly over a bottle of wine. They just sat like they had been all given death sentences.

"Er…hi" Aranwen said.

The break of the silence resulted in more than a dozen pair of eyes focusing on her.

"I need to see Modryn…or the Guildmaster." she said meekly.

A burly Orc raised his voice so it could be heard upstairs.

"Someone to see you Modryn…"

Several creeks and thuds of wooden floorboards announced Modryn's arrival down the stairs.

"What is it now, another bloody salesman?" The Dunmer said. "Well tell them we don't need any bloody enchanted codpieces-ah"

His eyes lit up as he saw Aranwen, comparing her to a lamb ready to be slaughtered.

"I want a word with you! Excuse us please!" he proclaimed loudly as he guided Aranwen firmly by the arm out the back door.

He closed it shut behind him and started on his rant.

"Now look here! I don't care if that damn Divine Crusader bloke person wants you to do something, you don't run off with him!"

"You seemed willing to let me go in exchange for an autograph…" Aranwen replied defensively.

"Ah…well you see…er" Modryn stuttered.

"Look sir, I bring news of great importance from the Divine Crusader!"

"_Oh look at me, I bring news from the Divine Crusader, I'm so special nah nah nah_" Modryn mimicked.

"LOOK DO YOU WANT ANY DAMN CONTRACTS OR NOT?" Aranwen screamed at him.

"WHAT? CONTRACTS!!!! WHERE???" Modryn shouted eagerly.

"THE CHAPELS!!! WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?"

"I DON'T- I don't know…" Modryn replied.

Both of them paused for breath.

"The Divine Crusader needs people to defend the Chapels. He was wondering if you would be courteous enough to help him defend them."

"In exchange for what?" Modryn said.

"Publicity, gold from the Chapels, blessings from the Gods and the eternal gratitude of the people." Aranwen replied tactfully.

Modryn paused for thought.

"Tell him to give me another autograph and it's a deal."

Aranwen burst out laughing, but Modryn ignored it. Instead he triumphantly burst through the back door to the Guild hall to the alarm of the other Guild members.

"Boys and girls!" he announced "Sharpen your swords and ready your shields! We have work to do!!"

The loud roar of glee could be heard all throughout the town.

***

"This is it, Underpall cave." Lathon said as he tied his horse to a tree.

The dark and foreboding door sent shivers down Calvus' spine. The rock around the door seemed blackened and corrupt, and no grass nor flowers grew around the entrance.

"I've been in scarier places." Calvus lied.

Even Tiber was affected by the door. He was pulling on his reigns, eager to get away. Calvus whispered some comforting words in his ear, and led him to a tree to tie him to. Tiber allowed himself to be tied to the tree, if a little reluctantly.

"Well, lets go in." Calvus said, gathering his courage.

He opened the door to the cave. A pit of darkness welcomed him, stale air rushed at him and made his hairs stand on end.

"Take this Crusader." Lathon said, handing him a torch.

"Thanks." Calvus replied.

He slung the Shield on his back, and held the mace in his right hand, the torch in his left. Each step forward was a struggle, like there was a huge weight on his shoulders. Lathon directed him through the tunnels for what felt like hours until they reached a great chamber. It was absolutely massive, over four times the size of the Fighters Guild hall in Chorrol. What looked like a fort was embedded on the other side of the chamber. Decaying coffins were strewn around the chamber, some in piles, others raised on the walls of the chamber.

"Who were these people?" Calvus wondered aloud.

"Sir Roderic believed they were Lord Vlindrel's personal guard who died in the war." Lathon answered.

Calvus slowly walked past the coffins. Lathon followed cautiously. Calvus suddenly heard an all to familiar creek of bone and steel. He had heard this noise in Pelinal's Shrine all those weeks ago.

"Ready your sword!" he hissed to Lathon.

He heard the sudden breaking of wood behind him. He turned to see a bony fist breaking out of a coffin and ripping the decaying wood to shreds. A skeleton wielding a rusty mace emerged from the wreckage. It leapt into the air and charged at Lathon, swinging its weapon. The Redguard blocked the blow with his shield and swiped at the skeleton's ribcage. The undead being hissed as it crumbled into a pile of bones and dust.

More wood shattered, and many more skeletons broke free from their places of rest. They leapt from the wall and all corners of the chamber, until more than a dozen surrounded Lathon and Calvus.

"Erm…Crusader?" Lathon said nervously.

Calvus sighed, threw his torch on the ground and readied his silver shortsword in his left hand.

"Aim for the neck" he said.

With that he swung both his weapons in arcs, decapitating two skeletons. Lathon smashed one with his shield, and broke the skull of another with a blow from his sword. Calvus blocked a strike from one skeleton with his sword, killed another with his mace, then finished the other with both his weapons. He was caught momentarily off guard, and as a result a skeleton managed to land a blow on his torso. Calvus grunted with pain and stabbed the skeleton in the ribcage. Lathon had managed to kill a few more in that time, only suffering a scratch on the arm. The rest of the skeletons soon fell victim to the wrath of Calvus' and Lathon's blades, but more coffins were spewing forth undead warriors, more than even the Divine Crusader could handle.

"RUN!" Calvus cried.

The two men ran through the chamber, a horde of angry skeletons behind them. The earth began to tremble with the weight of bony feet.

"Crusader, through that door!" Lathon shouted.

The door to the buried fort was surrounded by gravestones, some of which were being pushed a side by more awakening skeletons. The men ran through the rotten wooden door and slammed it shut behind them. They were in a corridor, lit by fresh torches. Calvus took one, as he had dropped his in the chamber.

"These your torches?" he asked Lathon curiously.

"Yes Crusader, we placed them so we could find our way back out." was the reply.

"Good, I just want to make sure there isn't anybody else around here."

As Calvus uttered that last word, a rusty axe crashed through the door.

"Time to go!" he said quickly.

He and Lathon sprinted down the winding corridor passing coffins, broken chests, rotting tables and sacks, the sound of the wrathful skeletons behind them. The corridor then led into a set of dark caves, lit by strange moss like growths on the walls. There were more coffins scattered around the area, but most were empty.

"Crusader…in here" Lathon said solemnly.

Calvus entered a small chamber. In the centre was a stone coffin upon an alter. The lid was cracked open. There was a body by the side of the coffin. Calvus knelt next to it.

"This is Sir Roderic?" he asked.

Lathon could only manage a nod for a response. The body was of an ageing Imperial, clad in a set of enchanted Dwarven armour. The man had white hair around the bald dome of his head, yet had few wrinkles. He had a Dwarven longsword at his side that was covered in ectoplasm. Blood had flowed from a wound in his chest, and stained his cuirass. Sir Roderic's dead blue eyes were open. Calvus closed them respectfully.

"Sir Roderic, you were like a father to me. You taught me everything you knew, even though I was only your humble squire." Lathon said to the body.

Calvus turned to look at the man. He could see from the Redguard's eyes that he his sorrow had turned into anger and hatred.

"And I _swear _that I will avenge you!" he finished.

Lathon then drew his sword and with a roar ran into the next chamber. Calvus swiftly followed, not wanting to lose sight of Lathon. As he turned the corner, an amazing yet terrifying sight met his eyes. He was in another large chamber with a sparkling pool of water in the centre. Broken crates, coffins and other flotsam and jetsam was lying around, dimly lit by several holes at the top of the chamber. The whole place was freezing, far colder than the rest of the cave. A dense fog covered the floor, which reached Calvus' waist. It felt as if he was wading through water. Then he saw it. Lathon had frozen in fear.

A figure emerged out of the fog on the far side of the chamber. It was translucent, and wore a long faded black cloak. A pale green face with a white beard were the only features that suggested that this creature was once human. It floated a few inches off the ground, and it was then Calvus realised that this thing had no legs. In its hand it held a long sword with a red ruby in the hilt. Calvus realised that it was the sword of the Crusader, but it looked anything but divine. It had a black tint to the blade and hummed with a malicious sound.

Lord Vlindrel screeched, raised the cursed sword high and floated towards the two men. Lathon looked wide eyed at Calvus, seeking his direction. Inside Calvus was scared beyond belief, this creature was nothing like he had ever faced before. The skeletons were still coming for them, a whole army of them. Hope was bleak, they were trapped and Calvus knew it was likely he would die in this cave. Then he though of Aranwen, how he longed to hold her in his arms again, how he wanted to see her and kiss her. And from that feeling in his heart leapt a spark of courage. He looked at the Wraith of Lord Vlindrel, which had its mouth wide open in a fearful screech. Calvus grinned.

"Nice teeth." he said and charged.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20- Reconsecration

At the sight of the Divine Crusader charging into battle against Lord Vlindrel, Lathon felt a new sense of courage, hatred, anger and determination rise up in him again. He roared and ran after the Crusader. In that hour the threat of death did not deter him, rather his desire for vengeance pushed him on.

Lord Vlindrel swiped at the Crusader with the cursed sword, but it proved fruitless as the Divine warrior merely leapt backward and counter attacked with the Mace. The Wraith lurched back, taken aback by this individuals courage. Then Lathon joined the fight. He hacked at the stunned spirit three times, his rage converted to strength in each blow. Yet this did little except anger Lord Vlindrel, who suddenly turned on Lathon and delivered a great blow. Lathon parried with his shield, but it was a forceful blow and knocked him to the ground.

The Wraith was about to deal another blow, but the Crusader intervened, slashing at it with his silver shortsword. The distraction saved Lathon's life, but in retaliation Lord Vlindrel cast a spell at the Crusader. A green orb flew out of his decrepit hand, momentarily illuminating the whole cavern, until it hit the Crusader straight in the chest. He flew across the cave and hit the far wall with a clatter of steel and stone. The Wraith then turned to Lathon, and screeched horribly. It raised its hand, green magika started to form another wounding spell. Lathon dived to the floor as the spell was cast over his head. He sprinted towards the Crusaders limp body.

"Crusader!" he cried.

There was no answer. The body was still.

***

Gureryne Selvilo looked up in surprise from his book as Modryn Oreyn burst through the Chapel doors, accompanied by two of his Fighters Guild Orc brutes and a rather smug female Bosmer.

"What do you want?" The Dunmer healer said in surprise.

"Nothing, I've just got a proposition for you." Modryn replied a little too innocently.

"Go on…" Gureryne said cautiously.

"Well, its just that with these Daedra attacking the Chapels and whatnot, I thought I could put my group of boys and girls to use by protecting the chapels, for a charge of course…" Modryn said.

"What? That's preposterous! I already have one of the Divine Crusaders own knights here, and there are the town guards outside!"

"Well your little knight can only do so much." Modryn said.

This got a dirty look from Areldur, who was standing at attention next to the central alter. Modryn ignored him.

"And lets face it, the Guards didn't exactly help the priests in the Chapel in Anvil…" he said in his most persuasive voice.

"Well the Blackwood Company has already approached us, but I rejected their offer-"

"THOSE BAST-" Modryn began, but his mouth was firmly covered by the female Bosmer.

"Best not to curse in a holy place." she said to him.

She uncovered his mouth and wiped her hand on the cloth of her greaves.

"How much did they ask for?" Modryn asked calmly.

"1000 gold for two guards, which is daylight robbery!" Gureryne said.

"I couldn't agree more! Which is why I am asking 500 gold for _four_ guards!"

Gureryne paused, in thought. He placed his hands into the pockets of his blue velvet trousers and paced up and down. The Dark Elf looked at Areldur.

"What do you think?" he asked.

The priest-turned-knight looked at the female Bosmer, who glared dangerously at him.

"In these times, the church needs all the help it can get. It is not enough for one priest to take up a sword." Areldur said to his old colleague.

"Very well, we have a deal!" Gureryne said to Modryn.

He caught a glance of the Bosmer smiling sweetly at Areldur. He suspected that she had something to do with this, but decided against voicing his suspicions.

If he did, he feared that would she would be too fierce for him to deal with.

***

"Crusader!" Lathon cried again.

Still nothing. Lathon pressed his hand to the Crusaders chest and cast a feeble healing spell. The Crusader jerked slightly, and started to breath heavily. Lathon turned, Lord Vlindrel was floating towards him, ectoplasm dripping from his recent wounds. Lathon stood over the Crusader, gripping his sword tightly.

"You took Sir Roderic…YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE CRUSADER!" he roared at the wraith.

The Redguard charged at Lord Vlindrel, jumping aside as a green orb of light flew past him. He hacked at the spectre twice, before rolling out of the way of a blow and ending up behind it. Lathon then heard an unnerving sound. The roar of Lord Vlindrel's skeleton army drew closer and he caught a glimpse of skeletal bodies entering the chamber. Lord Vlindrel used this distraction to his advantage, firing another wound spell at Lathon. The Redguard leapt out of the way clumsily, the spell just glancing his sword arm.

Lathon fell to the floor. His sword dropped from his hand for his arm was in great pain. The wraith floated over Lathon, and raised the cursed Sword. Lathon grunted in pain and waited for the blow. Which never came. Lathon opened his eyes and saw the Crusaders silver shortsword sticking through the undead knight.

"For the Nine!" he cried, before striking at Lord Vlindrel's head with the Mace.

Ectoplasm flew out from the wraith, as with one final screech it disintegrated. The faded robes fell to the floor in a pile, the Sword clattered to the floor. The Crusader turned to the skeletons that had entered the chamber.

"Your master is dead!" he declared to them, "What purpose do you have now?"

The skeletons looked at the two men, and slowly stepped back. With a gentle hiss and what sounded like a sigh, they all crumbled to piles of dust and bone. The Crusader knelt beside Lathon and applied a healing spell to his arm. Lathon felt the magika flow through him and revitalise him.

"Thank you." he said to the Crusader. "Sir Roderic has been avenged."

"And thank you too Lathon!" he replied "If it was not for your healing spell we would both be dead men. Now come on, lets get out of here."

"But the Sword…" Lathon said as he got up, " It looks…bad…cursed."

"I can see that. I don't think it is any state to be wielded by a holy warrior."

The Crusader picked Lord Vlindrel's empty robes and wrapped the sword in them.

"Come on, I've got an idea!" he said to Lathon, placing the covered Sword at his belt.

***

Calvus led Lathon back through the tunnels and corridors, soon to be greeted with a star lit night sky. They had been in the cave for hours. Tiber and Lathon's horse were glaring maliciously at each other. Calvus suspected that they had been doing it the whole time he and Lathon had been gone. He untied Tiber from his tree and mounted him. Lathon followed suit.

"Excuse me Crusader but…where are we going?" he asked.

"I did a lot of research on Umaril and the Crusader relics before you showed up Lathon." Calvus answered, " The Sword of the Crusader was created by Arkay, so we should be able to lift the curse in the Chapel of Arkay, in Cheydinhal. If we ride with haste we can be there by midday."

Lathon climbed onto his horse and trotted next to Calvus.

"Lead on Crusader!" he said.

Calvus kicked Tiber's flank, and the Bay horse reared with a mighty neigh, and started galloping along the road to Cheydinhal. Calvus bent low in the saddle, air screamed through the Helm as trees and rocks flew past him. Lathon's steed had trouble keeping up.

Midday came, and Calvus and Lathon had reached Cheydinhal. The two men left their horses in the stables and when they walked through the streets of the City, they turned heads. People even began cheering. Calvus waved at them, pride flowing through his veins. He strode through the doors to the Chapel of Arkay, catching the attention of the resident priests, healers and Fighters Guild members.

_Obviously Aranwen succeded in convincing Modryn_, he thought.

He walked confidently to the central alter, and uncovered the sword, placing it upon the alter. He then knelt and prayed to Arkay.

"My Lord Arkay, please see fit to lift the curse that has been placed on your holy sword." he said quietly.

When he looked up, the Sword lay upon the alter, gleaming like it was new. He took up the Sword and raised it high in the air. He then felt a strange sensation all along his arm, and looked at Sir Amiels enchanted ring on his finger. Calvus felt as if he had more energy.

"Arkay has seen fit to lift Stendarr's curse from me also…" he said to himself, smiling.

He then saw a bright blue flash. Four Aurorans has appeared in the centre of the Chapel, brandishing their large axes. Simultaneously the three Fighters Guild members and Lathon drew their weapons, as the priests and civilians screamed and fled to the corners of the Chapel. Calvus turned holding the Sword in front of his face, smirking through the Helm.

"Well didn't you boys pick a bad time to turn up!" he said, and charged at them laughing.

***

The battle was short. Calvus had killed two Aurorans with the Sword, they just turned to ash at its divine touch. The Fighters Guild members and Lathon had torn the other two apart. The only blood that stained the Chapel that day wad the blood of Daedra. Calvus now sat on a bench, cleaning the holy Sword. Lathon was asleep on another bench, he had had an exhausting time recently, as had Calvus.

They stayed at the Chapel that night, and it was at the crack of dawn that Calvus and Lathon took their horses from the Stables.

"I will take you to the Priory, then I will have to gather the other Knights." Calvus said to Lathon. "It is almost time to take this battle to Umaril himself."

Lathon nodded solemnly, and without further word they rode off at great speed. After two days hard riding they reached the edge of the West Weald. They slowed to a trot through the trees, Calvus knew exactly where he was going. The Priory was now in sight, though still a fair distance away. Suddenly three men clad in chain mail leapt out of bushes in front of them. Calvus drew the Sword and held the Mace tightly in his other hand. Lathon also drew his sword. More men leapt out of cover around them, until a dozen men surrounded them. Their leader, an Argonian stepped forward.

"You the Divine Crusader?" he demanded.

"No I'm Uriel Septim in disguise!" Calvus said.

"I don't buy it." The Argonian said, obviously not picking up the sarcasm.

"What do you want?" Lathon asked them.

"Your activities have put our activities to a halt. Many bandits are scared and hiding. We don't like that. Its quite hard to rob and kill when a holy warrior makes your men cower in fear and wet their greaves. So we want your head." the Bandit leader replied.

"I don't suppose we can talk about this?" Calvus tried.

"Not a damn chance!" The Argonian said as he pulled a large silver axe of his back.

"Oh bugger."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21- Shadows from the Past

The Bandit leader charged towards Calvus, raising his axe above his head. Tiber reared to avoid the blow, which made Calvus fall off his steed. Lathon was dragged off his horse and restrained by three bandits, forcing him to watch his master die. Calvus was sprawled on the ground, the Sword was out of his grasp.

"Here we go boys, this Crusader isn't crusading anymore!" The Argonian proclaimed as he raised his axe for the killing blow.

Calvus closed his eyes. Instead of feeling his head splitting in two, he heard a noise.

'_thunk'_

He opened his eyes. The Argonian was still there in the same position, but with an arrow sticking out of his neck. He fell backwards. The other bandits quickly began shouting and looking for the source of the arrow. Two more arrows came flying out of nowhere, and struck the two men restraining Lathon. The Redguard quickly leapt into battle, taking advantage of the confusion. He managed to decapitate one Dunmer bandit and keep the attention of a few others. Another two men were killed by mysterious arrows. Calvus saw his chance and scrambled towards the Sword. He quickly went into battle. His heightened emotions sent magika flowing through his body and the armour, making it glow blue like it had before. To the bandits he must have looked terrifying. His sword cleaved through a Khajiit bandit, who caught fire from the Swords enchantment.

At the loss of the leader and half of their comrades the other bandits started to panic, they fumbled with their weapons and were concentrating more on the Crusaders divine appearance than the battle. Two consecutive arrows struck two of the remaining bandits in the chest. The rest regrouped into a line, directly opposite of Calvus and Lathon.

"Come on then!!" Calvus screamed at them. "What's the matter? Underestimated me have you?"

At that a figure dropped out of the canopy of a tree, landing beside Calvus. Calvus couldn't get a good look through the Helm, but he could see it was a Bosmer, wielding a steel shortsword and a bow strapped to his back, alongside an empty quiver.

With this new ally, Calvus, Lathon and the mysterious Wood Elf charged at the bandits. Calvus smacked at his opponent with the Shield and stuck at his open side with his sword. Lathon ducked a blow and tackled the bandit to the ground, and finished him with a strike to the neck. The Bosmer leapt into the air, his sword was a blur in the air as he struck his opponent with an uppercut. He landed, then ran his wounded opponent through, finishing him for good. The final bandit dropped his mace and bolted. The Wood Elf quickly grabbed an arrow from a fallen bandits corpse and aimed it at the fleeing bandit. Calvus quickly stepped in and put his hand on the Bosmer's shoulder.

"Let him go." he said.

The Bosmer sighed and lowered his bow.

"He will gather others." The wood elf said, still staring at the fleeing bandit.

"And he will tell them that a dozen of them got slaughtered by the Divine Crusader!" Calvus countered.

"I suppose so." the Bosmer replied.

He then turned around and looked at Calvus through the Helm.

"Now I saw your armour glowing blue and your flaming sword, so I guess you're the Divine Crusader?"

"I am." Calvus replied.

"My name is Brellin. I hail from Silvenar, in Valenwood. I am a priest of Akatosh, and as soon as I heard of your fight against Umaril I travelled here, hoping for you to accept me as a Kni-"

"Yes!" Calvus interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes you bloody well can become a Knight, you have proved yourself a thousand times in that battle we just fought!" Calvus said with admiration.

"Thank you Crusader!" Brellin said beaming.

***

When Calvus drew close to the priory, leading Tiber by the reins, he was surprised to see Sir Thredret come rushing up towards him with a big smile on his face.

"Shouldn't you be in Bruma?" Calvus enquired.

"I was Commander, but I was given orders to return here."

"From who?"

"Why, the Prophet of course!"

Calvus suddenly remembered the robed man who had sent him on this quest to stop Umaril in the first place.

"He told you to come back here?"

"Me and the rest of the Knights Commander! He is here now, giving a sermon in the Chapel! He told me to come and get you when you arrived!"

"Brellin, you're a knight." Calvus said hastily. "Get to the basement, where you will find arms and armour, then report back to the Chapel."

Brellin nodded and ran into the Priory house. Calvus bounded to the chapel, Thredret and Lathon on his heels. Calvus threw open the doors, to see the rest of the Knights sitting on the wooden benches, listening intently to the Prophet, who was standing at the alter of the Chapel, his arms raised as he spoke.

"And so you noble Knights, serving under the new Divine Crusader, must follow his footsteps to Umaril's fortress in the west, and clear the way for him to confront Umaril and defeat him. The Crusader may be mighty, but he is still Mortal nevertheless."

Lathon and Thredret sat down on a wooden bench. Calvus chose to lean against the wall, and folded his arms across his chest. Moments later Brellin rushed in wearing a suit of Knights armour and sat on a bench next to Sir Avita.

"Knights of the Nine, each of you represents one of the Divines, and it is through you the Divines will fight Umaril and crush him!" the Prophet continued. "You will be renowned for your actions for centuries to come! So, servants of the Nine, will you fight? What say you?"

"I will fight!" Sir Areldur said as he stood up and drew his sword.

"As will we!" Sir Geimund said as he and his brother stood and drew their claymores.

The rest of the Knights stood and drew their swords in turn, until all were stood with their weapons high in the air.

"But what of the Crusader? You with the humble heart? Will you fight for the Divines" the Prophet said.

All eyes turned on Calvus. He slowly unfolded his arms and stood up straight, then unsheathed the Sword of the Crusader.

"Yes," he said as he rose the glimmering sword into the air.

The Knights cheered. After it died down, the Prophet beckoned Calvus.

"Knights! Assemble in the courtyard and wait for further instruction!" Calvus ordered.

The Knights filed out of the Chapel brimming with pride and excitement. Calvus walked through them towards the Prophet. When he got there, the Prophet was smiling.

"You have become the first to possess all of the relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, who defeated Umaril and bought peace to Tamriel. But you possess the same objects as Pelinal, the only ones lethal to Umaril, and yet Pelinal could not kill him. How will you ensure that Umaril dies by your hand?"

"Er...I'll hit him harder?" Calvus guessed.

"No. When Pelinal defeated Umaril, he fled to the spirit world, where Pelinal could not follow. At that time, there were only eight divines, these arms and armour were their gifts to defeat Umaril. Yet now there are nine Divines. Talos has yet to give his gift to mortals to help defeat Umaril!"

Calvus smiled.

"And what would that be? The Bow of the Crusader?"

"Don't be foolish!" The Prophet said scornfully. "No. Talos' gift is the ability for you to follow Umaril to the spirit plane when he dies!"

With that the Prophet put his hand on Calvus' shoulder. Calvus felt magika flow into him, and felt the presence of a spell in his head, which felt like it had always been there.

"You must first kill Umaril's living body. While beyond the power of most mortals, this is only the lesser of your two tasks. His Daedric nature allows his spirit to escape into Oblivion after death. This is what Pelinal learned upon defeating Umaril the first time. But you can do what Pelinal could not. The Blessing of Talos will allow you to follow Umaril's spirit when it leaves his body. When Umaril joined with the Daedra, his spirit expanded beyond this realm. His physical form can travel between realms, but his spirit is bound. When his body is destroyed, his spirit travels back to Oblivion and is reformed in the fires of creation. With the armour and arms of the gods and the Blessing of Talos, you will be able to follow him where Pelinal could not and destroy his very spirit. Once his spirit is destroyed, he will be completely obliterated, erased from all realms of existence!

You will find Umaril's fortress, Garlas Malatar, in the west, north of Anvil. He has made the sunken ruin rise from the sea, and has claimed it as his lair. It is there you will defeat him and bring peace to Tamriel! Now I bid you farewell, for I have important business to attend to elsewhere…"

Before Calvus could say a word, the Prophet raised his hand and cast a teleportation spell, engulfing him in a golden light which vanished from the Chapel.

"Well, that's that then." Calvus said.

He went outside, deep in thought. It was there he saw the Knights, _his _Knights, in a line standing to attention in the afternoon sun. Calvus stood still and looked upon them. Eight Knights, all of which served eight of the Divines. He was the missing link. Their leader.

"Knights of the Nine!" he cried, " You will march to Garlas Malatar in the west! Umaril has claimed this ruin as his lair, and has risen it from the sea! It is there we _will _defeat him! I will follow you shortly."

The Knights cheered and separated, some ran to the stables, others simply started jogging to the west.

"Wait a minute!" Calvus said.

The Knights halted in their tracks and looked at Calvus.

"Wouldn't it be better of you all travelled together? So all of you arrive at the same time?"

The Knights considered this, and after some confusion managed to fall, rather sheepishly, into a line, those that had horses in the middle.

"That's better!" Calvus said.

The Knights saluted and started their journey westwards. Calvus turned and walked back into the priory. He wanted to pay one final visit to the Knights in the Undercroft, so made his way there. As he opened the door, he felt a difference in the room. It didn't seem as cold as it had done before, and seemed a tiny bit brighter. The ghostly Knights were still standing in a circle, but one had been added to their number. Calvus walked past the spectres curiously, falling under their icy gazes. He approached the new spectre. This man had been tall, kingly, and had sported a beard. He had wrinkles and scars from many battles. This man looked…familiar.

"Hail Crusader!" the ghost greeted him in a deep gruff voice, "I am Sir Berich. Also known as Lord Vlindrel."

Calvus stood back in alarm and put his hand on his sword hilt. Sir Amiel however, stood in front of him.

"Do not fear Crusader!" he cried. "You have redeemed my friends soul, and he is no longer a threat!"

"When you reconsecrated the Sword, you also cleansed my soul. I was allowed to return here with my comrades of old, reuniting the Knights of the Nine in death!" Sir Berich roared passionately. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart Crusader, for releasing me from that eternal torment.

"Er, no problem!" Calvus replied, surprised and relieved.

He turned to the rest of the Knights.

"I have come here to say…I have succeded in reclaiming the Sword of the Crusader, which you must have learned through the redemption of Sir Berich. That means…I now possess all of the Crusaders relics. I must now confront Umaril and defeat him. I may not be coming back. So this may be my final goodbye. I thank you Knights of the Nine, for all of the help you have provided me. And kicking that assassins arse, that was good as well."

He then turned to Sir Amiel and Sir Berich.

"And though you may think it…your order did not fail. It has not failed me yet."

Sir Amiel beamed, Sir Berich smiled curtly. The other Knights cheered Calvus as he walked past them and got to the door of the Crypt.

"CRUSADER WAIT!!" Sir Amiel bellowed.

"What?" Calvus asked surprised.

"There is…danger outside. I can sense it. Someone who wants to hurt you!"

As Calvus ran through the basement he ordered the Smith to hide, and drew his sword as he went up the stairs.

***

Marsus Tullinus watched as the Knights vanished into the distance. He then sprung from his hiding place behind a rock and jogged towards the priory, his two Nord bodyguards in tow.

"Those bastard Bandits did sod all!" he said through gritted teeth. "The Dark Brotherhood can't kill him, a dozen bandits can't kill him. I will have to."

As he reached the priory he stopped and caught his breath.

"You two guard the Chapel and Stables, in case he tries to flee. But _don't _kill him…that's my job."

The Nords wordlessly followed his orders. Marsus walked calmly up to the priory doors and drew his Elven longsword. His Mithril armour gleamed as he started to say the words of a destruction spell.

***

Calvus reached the ground floor, and saw nothing was amiss. But he felt a presence nearby, outside the door. The double doors blasted open, the tongue of fire that roared through them threw Calvus backwards, landing with a clang of steel on the stairs. The Helm fell of his head and rolled down. Calvus lay there, and watched as the smoke cleared. A figure strode through, pointing his Elven longsword towards Calvus. The man was in his thirties an had long brown hair, much like Calvus himself except older. The man walked up to Calvus and looked at him.

"The Divine Crusader unmasked at last…" he said softly, lowering his sword, "Hello…brother…"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22- Kinslayer

"Brother?" Calvus asked bewildered, "…Marsus?"

Before Calvus could say any more, Marsus stepped forward and was about to swipe at Calvus, still sprawled on the stairs. Time seemed to slow, which gave Calvus some considerable thinking time. The Sword of the Crusader lay beside him on the stairs, the Shield was halfway across the room as a result of the explosion. He could also not reach the Mace or his silver shortsword, as they were difficult to draw from his current position sprawled on the Priory stairs. His only option was to grab the Sword. Time speeded up again.

Calvus snatched the Sword from beside him and put its blade in front of him. Marsus' Elven blade struck it, Calvus could see small sparks pass between the blades. Marsus attempted another blow, but Calvus parried once again. This time he could muster the strength to throw the Elven blade away with force. Marsus stumbled back, Calvus got to his feet.

"I'm your brother!" Calvus shouted at him.

"I know!!!!" Marsus roared.

He then ran at Calvus swinging his blade in a deadly arc. Calvus swung his blade perpendicular to Marsus', producing a deadly sound of blades clashing. The two brothers struggled for power. Marsus lost. Calvus swung his sword in a circular motion along with Marsus', which would have normally disarmed him. But Marsus had a strong grip, and managed to keep hold of his sword. The brothers stepped back, and breathed heavily.

"I thought you were dead!" Calvus shouted.

Marsus opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words. Instead he lunged at Calvus once again. Calvus blocked the blow just in time. The pair exchanged a few more strikes, before they both stepped back, creating a calm moment in the frenzied fight. Both men were out of breath, not just from their conflict of blades, but from high running emotions . After a few seconds of this temporary truce, Calvus gripped the Sword with both hands and lunged. Unfortunately Marsus did the same. They locked swords, blades inches from their faces.

"Why are you doing this?" Calvus asked with despair.

"Because you left me to die…" Marsus replied darkly.

***

_The two young teens locked their wooden swords. A small power struggle took place, to which the elder brother was the victor. He forced his younger brother back onto the ground. _

"_Ow!" the younger sibling said "Marsus that hurt!"_

"_Calvus, you're the one who wants to join the Fighters Guild! You've got to get used to a few knocks!" his brother wisely replied. _

"_Still hurts."_

_Marsus laughed and looked over at his father, sitting on a bench outside their house, calmly reading a book. He then looked back at Calvus and offered his hand. Calvus took it and hauled himself up. _

"_Thanks." he said sheepishly. _

"_You notice fathers been reading more and more books lately." Marsus stated. _

"_Well he's a priest, that's what they do."_

"_Yes…I suppose."_

_Marsus paused and thought for a minute. Calvus looked at him, and waved his hand in front of his brothers face._

"_Hey I was thinking!" Marsus complained. _

"_I know, I just want to know what!" Calvus replied innocently. _

"_Well…father never reads as much as he has. And you know he is always away on business these days. Like he's keeping secrets."_

"_Priests don't have secrets. They are far too honest."_

"_That's what everybody thinks. I don't know there's just something not…never mind, probably nothing. Do you fancy doing some archery?"_

"_But I'm exhausted!" Calvus said unconvincingly. _

"_No you're not, your cheeks aren't even pink." Marsus joked. _

_Calvus turned away embarrassed. Marsus sighed. _

"_I'll get the bows." he said. _

_Marsus ran inside the house. Calvus looked around and then decided he was bored. Living in a cottage in the middle of the Great forest had its merits, but you could get bored easily. He walked over to his father and sat down beside him on the ground. His father was not a tall man, but he still had presence. He was wearing his priests robes, his staff was leaning against the wall of the house. His hair was down to his shoulders and was almost entirely grey. He also had a few wrinkles, but not as many as other people of his age. He looked down and ruffled Calvus' hair. Calvus tutted. _

"_Don't do that, it messes my hair up." Calvus said annoyed._

"_Your hairs always messed up, you'd be better off keeping it in a ponytail." his father said with a warm smile. _

"_That will _never _happen!"_

"_If you say so."_

_A few minutes of silence passed by, until the father and son heard running footsteps coming from the forest. _

"_Could be trouble." Calvus' father warned._

_Calvus obediently stayed where he was. His father gripped his staff and snapped his book shut. He then got up and walked to the edge of the clearing. _

"_Who goes there?" he challenged. _

_Two men, a Dunmer and a Breton, burst into the clearing, carrying torches. They were clad in mismatched armour, some fur, some leather, some was even Elven. Both men had the reek of alcohol about them. _

"_How can I help you gentlemen?" Calvus' father asked sternly. _

_The men did not reply, but just looked at the priest strangely. A dark feeling of dread leapt up in Calvus. They were bandits. _

"_We…we are tired of raiding…travellers." The Dunmer replied with an alcoholic lisp. _

"_We are gonna… attack…sommit else." His accomplice added._

"_And this looks like a…nice little…settlement…out the way, not a Legion scum in miles." The Dunmer said with malice in his eyes._

"_Well you won't find anything here." Calvus' father said in a dismissive way. "I suggest you leave"_

"_Oh…I don't think so!" The Dunmer said aggressively. _

_He suddenly threw his torch through the window of the house. The Breton ran forward and threw his torch also._

"_NO!" Calvus' father cried. _

_The Dunmer then drew a steel shortsword and pointed it at Calvus. _

"_Get back!" he growled. _

_Calvus complied and ran quickly to his fathers side. They watched as the bandits laughed and started throwing stones and bottles into the now flaming cottage. Calvus looked at his father. _

"_Marsus is in there!" he said desperately. _

"_I know." his father said, suppressing his anger and rage. _

_Calvus then looked at the two bandits. They were now laughing and enjoying their destruction, obviously unafraid of an old priest and a thirteen year old boy. He looked at his father, his grip on his staff tightened with anger. But then his grip relaxed, and then the priest held his staff differently, like an axe. Calvus knew his father was going to attack the bandits. _

_He looked at the Dunmer bandit again. He had a knife at the back of his belt, loosely sheathed. With speed he ran behind the Dark Elf and grabbed the knife from its scabbard and plunged it into the bandits back. The Dunmer screamed and fell to his knees. The Breton turned and saw his friend fall, then growled and drew an iron longsword. He raised it, but the blow never fell. Calvus' father had hit the man over the head with his staff. The Priest then dealt blows to the Bretons waist and back, succumbing him. He then whacked the other dying bandit over the head, then threw his staff aside and ran into the burning house. Calvus picked up the steel shortsword and held it in front of him, guarding the two bandits in case they got up. _

_Painful seconds passed like hours. Worry was great in Calvus, as was guilt. He had acted in anger and someone had died because of it. He had blood on his hands, blood he feared he could never wash off. But he still had greater concern for Marsus and his father. He prayed to Dibella for their safety. Calvus loved them too much for him to go wrong. He then heard the sound of collapsing of wooden beams and turned to see his father running out of the building, two tears trickling down his face. Calvus feared the worst. _

_His father sat down on the grass at the edge of the clearing, and beat small fires out of his robes. Calvus sat down next to him. _

"_I…I couldn't find him. No body…nothing…" his father said direly upset._

"_But…but…p-perhaps he escaped…ran off?" Calvus asked desperately._

"_No Calvus…we would have seen him. I could not find him. I looked everywhere, even the basement. He's gone."_

"_Perhaps Dibella teleported him to safety?" Calvus persisted._

"_She…she wouldn't do that. He's dead Calvus. I could not save him…" his father said before more fresh tears flowed. Calvus hugged his father in the orange light of their flaming home. _

_***_

_Three years had passed. Calvus and his father were staying in the Chapel of Dibella, at the courtesy of the Church. His father had seemed to accept his sons demise. Calvus still held hope that his brother was still alive. _

"_But you didn't find a body!" he argued._

_His father sighed. Calvus was sixteen now, and had his hair in a ponytail. He was taller, stronger and more fierce than ever in conflict, yet he still possessed his virtues of kindness and righteousness._

"_No, but that doesn't mean he is alive Calvus. If he was, he would have found us by now, or someone who would contact us. You must accept he is gone." his father argued back. _

_The chapel echoed with their voices, and was empty save for an elderly priest tending to the central alter. Calvus felt defeated, and sat next to his father. _

"_You still feel guilt don't you?" his father said without looking up from his book. _

"_Yes. Because I could not save him. And I killed a man."_

_His father snapped his book shut and looked at Calvus, then put his hand on his sons' shoulder._

"_My boy, you are a fighter. A killer. You got that fierceness and determination from your mother, as well as your skill with a blade. You are not destined to become a priest. You will become a man who wields a blade, and it doesn't bother me, so long as you deliver justice and retribution with your skills. The Fighters Guild is noble enough. But that may not be your final destiny my boy. Your purpose is for something greater, I can feel it. Do not feel guilt for your kill that day. It was in vengeance for your brother, and while vengeance is not a noble thing, it is understandable. Don't feel guilt. Let me put it this way. You stopped that man from killing others and ruining other families. And that is noble."_

_Calvus considered this and sat back in thought. They hadn't talked about the fight before now, and now he recalled it, he remembered something._

"_You weren't too bad yourself father. You seem to have quite good skill with a staff."_

_He said tactfully. _

"_Oh I just hit the bastard with a stick of wood, anyone could do that!" his father said modestly._

_Despite these words, Calvus knew his father was hiding something._

_***_

The two brothers still struggled with their locked blades.

"Father couldn't find you! We thought you were dead! We-" Calvus said exhausted

"YOU DIDN'T LOOK HARD ENOUGH AND LEFT ME TO BURN!" Marsus roared.

Calvus then forced his blade forwards and threw Marsus backwards. He stumbled and fell to the floor, his blade fell from his hand. Calvus quickly ran forwards and kicked the sword away, and pointed his sword at his brothers throat.

"Surrender!" he said.

"You don't have the guts." Marsus said, and scrambled for his sword.

Calvus raised the Sword, but he then lowered it. Marsus picked up his Elven longsword and pointed it at Calvus. Calvus looked at the blade, and then threw his sword aside and knelt on the ground.

"Giving up?" Marsus asked.

"Yes. Kill me, you've won."

Marsus grinned and raised his sword.

"But-"

Marsus lowered his sword.

"What?"

"If I don't have the guts…neither do you." Calvus said defiantly.

Marsus raised his blade again.

"What would father say?" Calvus whispered.

Marsus breathed heavily, and his sword hand started to shake. He threw the sword down.

"I came here to kill you." he said. "I sent the Dark Brotherhood after you, I sent a dozen bandits to kill you. They all proved useless, so I tried to kill you myself. And even now I cannot do it. I think I know why: You're too damn _nice_."

"So it's a stalemate then." Calvus said.

"Yes. All our fights were."

"And always will be."

There was a long silence as the men regained their breath and their thoughts. After some time Marsus said:

"Can you forgive me brother?"

Calvus stood up, and looked at the floor for some time. An uneasy silence presented itself, until Calvus sighed and looked his brother right in his eyes.

"No."

He then hit Marsus round the face with his fist and knocked him on the head, rendering him unconscious. Calvus shook his hand to relieve it of the pain, then dragged his unconscious brother down to the basement, past a bewildered blacksmith and into the Undercroft.

"WHO DARES-" Sir Amiel started to roar.

"Amiel, its just my brother. Make sure he doesn't escape when he wakes up. Me and him need to talk, but not now." Calvus interrupted.

He lowered his brother to the floor and went back to the door. The Knights gathered around the body, then looked at Calvus, still standing at the door, his back to the Knights.

"I've got a Half Daedric Ayleid King to kill." he said.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23- Battle Plans

Calvus felt a small pang of regret as he exited the basement, but he knew that his brother could wait. Umaril couldn't. He was tired from his fight with Marsus, but he had to ride immediately. He found the Shield in the corner of the room, and picked it up. It was undamaged, thankfully. As he closed the blackened door to the Priory, a Nord with a claymore and fur armour charged at him. Calvus thought quickly.

"If I'm here, what does that tell you about your master?!" he shouted quickly.

The Nord paused for a second, and thought about what Calvus had just said. His eyes lit up in fear and he suddenly ran away. Calvus laughed at the retreating figure. When he entered the stables he found an angry looking Tiber, and another Nord, but unconscious, with a hoof print shape in his fur cuirass.

"Well done boy!" Calvus said.

Tiber brightened at praise from his master, and his ears perked up. Calvus mounted his faithful steed, and charged out of the stables, leaving the unconscious Nord to his fate. Calvus ushered Tiber on as fast as he could, sometimes ignoring the roads completely and cutting across country. He only rested once on his entire journey, at a campsite in between Skingrad and Kvatch. He followed the Gold road south west, its cobblestones were blurs under Tiber's hooves. Soon the port town of Anvil was in sight in the distance, and reminded Calvus of when he first journeyed to the town, to see what had happened at Dibella's chapel. That felt like so long ago. He then spied a figure on the road that looked somewhat familiar. He cantered towards the figure, and recognised it as Sir Geimund.

"Hail Crusader!" Sir Geimund cried.

"Sir Geimund! Where are your fellow Knights?" Calvus enquired.

"I was sent to lead you to our camp, not far from Umaril's lair!" Sir Geimund said pointing to a small plume of smoke rising from the top of a hill.

"Then you better lead me there!" Calvus said as he dismounted.

Calvus led Tiber by the reins as he followed Sir Geimund over the hill, through knee high grass and past small boulders that were commonly seen around the Gold Coast. When they reached the top of the hill Calvus saw the Knights sitting around a small fire. Some bedrolls were laid out, but none of the Knights were asleep on them. They were all looking up at Calvus, expectation in their eyes.

"Hi…" Calvus said.

Sir Thredret finally stood up, and broke the tense silence.

"Commander!" he said. "We have been here a few hours, and have seen no activity near the ruin. We don't believe Umaril knows we are here."

"He doesn't know because he doesn't care." Calvus said, turning to look at the Ayleid ruin in the distance, "You are just my Knights. He only cares about me."

Something then occurred to Calvus.

"Who put you in charge Sir Thredret?" he asked.

"We voted who was to be second in command." Sir Thredret replied.

"Ah democracy!" Calvus said, "Well…I'm here now, so you do what I say."

The other Knights nodded. Sir Thredret sat down.

"I don't know how many Daedra are in that place," Calvus said sincerely, "There could be ten, a hundred, a thousand. All I know is that there are nine of us. And while you are all valiant fighters, you will not be able to defeat Umaril without the relics. So…If I fall, one of you must take the Crusaders relics and kill Umaril. That is a lot to ask, but its what we must do."

He then turned back to look at Ayleid ruin.

"But enough of that!" he cried. "This is what we have been waiting for! We are all here for this purpose! This is our hour, out _finest_ hour!"

The Knights arose and stood behind Calvus. He looked at the ruin, then took the Helm off his head and turned to look at his Knights.

"My name is Calvus Tullinus." he said. "I am the Divine Crusader. My title is far more well known than my name. I'd like to keep it that way. The idea that I'm some kind of Divine spirit or the reincarnation of Pelinal Whitestrake gives the people of Cyrodiil hope. That's all they need."

The Knights nodded. Calvus looked behind them, and saw figures in the distance. He squinted, and saw about two dozen shapes jogging towards them. The Knights saw Calvus looking behind them, and turned also. Calvus put the Helm back on and strode towards the figures.

"Who goes there?" he challenged them.

"An ally!" a familiar voice shouted back.

Calvus recognised Modryn Oreyn jogging towards him, with two dozen men and women of the Fighters Guild behind him. Modryn walked up to Calvus, panting like he had run for a whole day.

"Cr…Crusader!" he managed to say. "I'm here to help!"

"How did…I told no one I was here! Who sent you?" Calvus asked bewildered.

"Some old bloke teleported into the Guild hall, some kind of Prophet, said you needed help!" Modryn replied.

"But...I have no gold to pay you!"

"Oh its alright Crusader!" Modryn said patting Calvus on the back, somewhat hesitantly. "I'll consider it a favour for a certain something…"

He held out a piece of parchment. Calvus grinned inside the Helm.

"Got a quill?" he asked.

***

The Ayleid ruin of Garlas Malatar had lay dark for centuries, ever since it had sunk into the sea. But something stirred in the black. The darkness that had been there for centuries was destroyed by a sudden flash of bright blue light. The light travelled through every white corridor and hall, illuminating every single Welkynd stone. The light was so bright it would have blinded any mortal. Soon the brightness faded, revealing row upon row of Aurorans marching through the halls. Some were marching towards the entrance, but others were flocking to the deepest chamber, the only chamber to contain a throne.

Upon this throne sat a tall figure, at least eight foot in height. He looked as if he were wearing golden armour that covered his body, but this was armour unlike any other. Scales adorned the cuirass, along with some articulated plates that were scripted with Elven runes. His gauntlets, vambraces, greaves and boots were all crafted to look like the body of a dragon. The face of the figure was long, with a short golden beard and tall thin horns on the head. The eyes were pure gold, with no irises nor pupils. And on his back the wings of a bird, but lacking any feathers.

Umaril the Unfeathered looked at the many Aurorans that stood to attention before him, ready to do his command. He stood up, and smelt the air.

"_Man sino…_" he said.

And in the minds of all his minions, this meant:

"He's here…"

_***_

Calvus handed back the quill, and spied a familiar face amongst the men that followed Modryn. Aranwen shyly looked away.

"May I talk with one of your men?" he asked Modryn.

"Of course Crusader!" Modryn said.

Calvus walked away and beckoned Aranwen towards him. She walked up to him, conscious of eyes upon her.

"I sent you to Chorrol so you would be safe…" Calvus whispered.

"And I was bored senseless! I was doing nothing!" she replied fiercely.

"I _want _you to be safe!" Calvus insisted.

"The feeling is mutual!" she said.

"What?" Calvus asked.

"All these men here are risking their lives for you. They follow you, they love you! Why not let the one who loves you the most…fight?" she said trailing off at the end of her sentence.

Calvus smiled and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Because the one who loves me the most is worth fighting for." he said warmly.

He embraced her tightly, she did the same. Calvus closed his eyes and got lost in the moment. Aranwen felt it right to lightly kiss the side of his helm.

"CRUSADER!" Modryn shouted. "Sorry to interrupt you lovey dovey moment, but there's a hell of a lot of Legion soldiers coming this way!"

Calvus disentangled himself from Aranwen's arms and ran to the Dark Elf's side. Sure enough about one hundred men clad in the armour of the Imperial Legion were marching towards the camp. They were headed by an Imperial commander on a horse, who held up a hand. The men halted in perfect harmony.

"Its an entire Legion…" Calvus said under his breath.

"Which one of you is the Divine Crusader?" the man on the horse shouted.

"I am the one you speak of!" Calvus said, walking forward towards the host of men.

The Commander on the horse rode up to Calvus and produced a scroll of parchment from his horses saddlebags.

"I bring a message from the Emperor of Tamriel! _'I, Uriel Septim VII, have sent you the 101__st__ Legion to help with your endeavours in exchange for your services to the Empire! May the Nine guide you to victory Crusader!' _"

"What services?" Calvus blurted out surprised.

"I have a list here!" the Commander replied, and took out another scroll of parchment from the horses saddlebags. "Rescuing a solider of the Imperial Legion, protecting the Leyawiin Chapel from Daedra and reducing bandit activity throughout the region."

"And for this I get an entire Legion?"

"To put it blatantly: Yes. The Emperor is very impressed!"

"Fair enough" Calvus said, not wanting to argue. "Wait...how did the Emperor know I was here?" Calvus asked.

"He was visited by a mysterious old man, a Prophet, who claimed you would need help in defeating Umaril." the Legion Commander replied.

"That crafty bastard…" Calvus said under his breath.

"These men and myself are under your command Crusader. We will follow to death and beyond!" the Commander continued.

"Tell me sir, what is your name?" Calvus said loudly.

"Stentus Varro, Commander of the 101st Legion."

Calvus looked upon the one hundred men and women that stood behind the Commander. He felt worry stir up within him, he had never commanded ten men before, let alone over a hundred. And these were Legion soldiers. They were the backbone of the Empire, and had been the tool that Tiber Septim had used to conquer the provinces all those years ago. And now he had them under his command.

_Better give some orders, don't want them to think I'm weak. And hesitating doesn't really inspire confidence in men, _he thought.

"Stentus...I am glad for your assistance. It will be a glorious day for the Legion indeed! Lead your troops within bow range of the ruin!" he commanded.

"Yessir!"

Stentus kicked his heels against his horses flanks and rode towards the ruin. The Legion jogged after their commander, going around the hill. The sound of one hundred moving suits of plate mail was deafening. Calvus turned to the Fighters Guild, who looked a slightly annoyed that the Legion had stolen their thunder. He was about to address Modryn by name, but then remembered that Modryn did not know who the identity of the Divine Crusader.

"You, Dark Elf! What is your name?" Calvus shouted above the noise.

"Modryn Oreyn Sir!"

_Got out of that one_, Calvus thought relieved.

"Station your men three dozen paces in front of the Legion!" he ordered

"Yessir!"

_I just ordered Modryn Oreyn to do something! Is this a dream?_

"Sir Thredret!"

"Yes Commander?"

"Lead the Knights to the bridge that spans the gap between us and the island!"

"Yessir!"

***

The sound of marching boots had gone, leaving the hill empty and silent, save for two figures, Calvus and Aranwen. They looked each other in the eyes, and said no words. Calvus eventually broke the silence.

"If I die in there…take care of my brother…"

"Okay...wait...what brother?" Aranwen asked confused.

"Erm...long story, lets just say he is unconscious in the basement after trying to kill me..."

Aranwen just looked even more confused and slightly worried after Calvus said that.

"I thought he was dead, he wasn't, he wanted revenge, he tried to kill me indirectly twice, we fought, I won, I locked him in the basement." Calvus summarised.

"Calvus..."

"Kind of a cliche really..."

"Calvus!"

"...Yes?"

"If I die in there…remember me…"

Silence.

"I will…"

Calvus looked down, and took the Helm off his head.

"Aranwen…I want you to have this."

He produced his Silver shortsword from his belt.

"It has slain many of my enemies. I hope it does the same for you…"

Aranwen took the sword, and held it like it were some precious relic.

"Thank you Calvus…its been good."

She sheathed the shortsword, then wrapped her arms around Calvus' neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. They were left alone on that hilltop, it was like there was no war, no Umaril, no Crusader, just those two in that moment. Calvus broke away after some time.

"Duty calls." he said as he replaced the Helm on his head.

Aranwen nodded and ran off to join her Fighters Guild brethren. Calvus then remembered that there was still a horse on the hilltop, his horse.

"Tiber…"he said

His horse looked at him intently.

"You're the best horse I've ever had. If I die, then return to the Bravil stables. I'm sure you know the way."

Tiber nuzzled his masters neck. Calvus laughed, then mounted his faithful steed, and sped down the hill. The wind rushed past him, as he surveyed the men that stood ready to fight. For effect he decided to ride around a bit, let all the troops see him and know who their commander was. The men looked upon him like he were some kind of God. Whispers broke out amongst the ranks, which were quickly hushed by the barks of Sergeants. Thats how powerful Calvus was to these men, they would risk punishment just to say a few words about him. He saw Stentus at the head of his troops, he rode over to him.

"How many of your Legion are archers?" he asked.

"Thirty archers, fifteen battle mages, the rest are standard troops." the Commander replied.

"Get your archers to load their bows, and your mages to start charging their spells!" Calvus ordered.

"Already have done sir!"

"Good! Well done!"

Calvus then cantered past the Fighters Guild, and gave a sharp nod to Modryn, who saluted, almost comically, in return. He finally reached his Knights, and drew the Sword. The whole mass of fighting troops was silent. There was the inaudible sound of the moment just before all hell would break loose. Calvus decided to break that. He raised the Sword, light gleaming from the red ruby in its hilt.

"KNIGHTS OF THE NINE! MEN OF THE FIGHTERS GUILD! SOLDIERS OF THE LEGION! WE PUT A STOP TO UMARIL AND HIS EVIL THIS DAY, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! REMEMBER THE SLAIN PRIESTS IN THE CHAPEL, REMEMBER THE DESECRATED ALTER AND REMEMBER THAT THE GODS ARE BEHIND YOU! WHO IS WITH ME?"

Every man, woman, mer and beast rose their weapons high in the air and cheered loudly. Calvus then turned back to the ruin.

"COME OUT UMARIL AND WE WILL MAKE YOUR DEATH QUICK AND PAINLESS!" he shouted amongst the cheers.

The ruin did not stir. Calvus dismounted and stood before the white stone of the bridge. He looked upon the ruin. It was definitely Ayleid, it had the same architecture as others he had explored. But unlike many other ruins, it had a large statue of an Elven king holding a great sword by the entrance. It was also covered in seaweed from its time under the water. Calvus then regained his focus, and took one step onto the bridge.

Garlas Malatar shook. The doors burst open, and from them marched many Aurorans. Many had familiar golden axes, others had great golden bows. Some Aurorans were taller than others, and carried huge staves of wood, their tips glowed bright blue. Many Daedra marched from the entrance of the ruin, and lined up on the island in ranks. Some climbed up onto the ruin itself and started roaring and growling loudly, challenging those that stood before them to fight. Calvus' men in return started to beat their shields and shouted curses at the Daedra, their courage and rage was boiling into a blood lust. The Aurorans became enraged, and those that had bows notched arrows, those that had staves started to charge up spells. Calvus smiled inside the Helm.

"So it begins…" he said to himself.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24- Battles Galore!

The Auroran archers had pulled their bowstrings fully and were preparing to fire.

"TAKE COVER!" Calvus shouted to the men behind him.

The Knights and Fighters Guild covered their heads with their shields, the Legion simultaneously crouched and raised their shields forming a metal wall, protecting all inside. Golden arrows bounced of shields and spells smashed against them. The Aurorans first volley proved fruitless. After emerging from behind the Crusader's Shield, Calvus observed the Daedra reloading their great bows.

"RETURN FIRE!" he cried.

The archers from the Legion and Fighters Guild fired a volley. Most targets struck home, but it took at least half a dozen arrows to pierce an Auroran's thick skin before it was subdued, so not many fell. The Imperial Battlemages proved more effective, fifteen fireballs sent fifteen Daedra falling to the ground in flames, and severely burning several others. The Auroran archers ran forward to the shore nearest the mainland, and aimed their bows directly at the Legion. Their volley proved more effective this time, the Legion did not have enough time to reposition their shields, and several golden arrows managed to penetrate the thick Legion plate mail.

"FIRE AT WILL!" Calvus shouted.

The archers did so, and after a few seconds many more Aurorans had fallen. Calvus saw how at least a dozen arrows had pierced a single Auroran, which fell face first into the sand.

"Guess his name was Will." Calvus joked to himself.

He then took note of the Archers at the front of the Aurorans formation, and that with bows they would be weak against blades. The bridge leading to the island was wide enough for three abreast, and the water was too deep to wade through in armour.

"KNIGHTS AND FIGHTERS GUILD WITH ME! LEGION KEEP FIRING!" he ordered.

The Knights of the Nine gathered around him, the Fighters Guild behind them.

"Go in lines of three, Sir Lathon, myself and Sir Avita will be in front, the rest of you stay behind us!" he told them clearly.

The Knights formed up, and Calvus, Sir Avita and Sir Lathon formed the front line, holding out their shields in front. The rest of the Knights formed into threes behind them, as did the Fighters Guild. Calvus then lead the formation across the white bridge towards the ruin. The Aurorans noticed the advancing party, and sent several axe wielding Aurorans to stall them. Calvus gritted his teeth as the Aurorans charged towards him.

"HOLD!" he cried.

The Knights braced themselves and protected their faces with their shields as the Daedra crashed into them. The Aurorans rebounded off the shields, momentarily staggering them.

"PUSH!" Calvus bellowed.

Avita and Lathon hit their opponents with triumphant cries and watched as they lost balance and stumbled into the water. Calvus ran his opponent through with the Sword, the Daedra screamed and crumbled to ash at the Swords touch. The other Daedra at the bridges opposite end lost morale. Its wasn't that they were afraid of dying, they were immortal, but they were of afraid of returning to Oblivion like _that. _

"CHARGE!" Calvus cried and ran forward, raising his sword ready to strike. The Knights followed him gleefully, and screamed loudly as they swept through the line of Auroran archers, vulnerable to the blades of the Knights of the Nine. At least two dozen archers fell in the onslaught, eight of them slain by the Sword of the Crusader. Covered in Auroran blood, the Knights of the Nine were filled with the adrenaline of battle, as was Calvus. He has a burning desire to continue on, to kill everyone of these Daedra. But then common sense kicked in, and told him that they were outnumbered and needed to retreat. Several Aurorans with golden longswords were charging towards them, firing lightening from their long fingers.

"PULL BACK!" Calvus ordered amongst the commotion.

The Knights and Fighters Guild seemed to regain their heads, and realised that they were surrounded by angry Aurorans. They swiftly fell back to the bridge and started to sprint back to the safety of their lines. The Aurorans started their counterattack, mages were firing spells at the retreating men and women. One fireball narrowly missed Sir Brellin, hitting a white arch instead, sending it crumbling into the sea.

***

The small force managed to reach the other side of the bridge, and retreated out of spell range. Calvus caught his breath and looked at the men around him. The attack had been a complete success, most of the enemy archers were dead or wounded, and save for a few bumps and scrapes, none of the men had been seriously injured. The Legion were keeping back the enemy counter attack with arrows, but the Aurorans were still gaining ground across the bridge.

"Knights, form a semi circle around the bridges exit!" Calvus ordered.

The Knights ran to the bridge and did as Calvus ordered, forming a curved wall of red shields. The Fighters Guild gathered behind them with spears and bows, supporting them for the imminent conflict. The first few Daedra set foot on the mainland, and half a dozen arrows flew into them. Two fell, the other staggered forward just to be skewered by a spear. But then the full onslaught began, as many Aurorans charged at the wall, trying to break it. The golden creatures rebounded off shields and were sliced by swords, stabbed by spears and hit with arrows. The sheer mass of them meant they could not be pushed back, but then they had little room to move. One Auroran managed to get a lucky stab at a Fighters Guild spearman and the man fell to the ground, but was quickly avenged by Calvus, who sliced the creature across the chest with the Sword of the Crusader.

"Take that you bastard!" he shouted.

But then Calvus heard a terrible sound. Sir Thredret, who was at the eastern end of the shield wall, was thrown aside by two Aurorans, who pushed past the line and set into the line behind the wall. Auroran axes cleaved through three Fighters Guild members before they were subdued, but the wall was broken. More were about to charge through, and at that point Calvus took a huge risk.

"BREAK RANKS!" he cried.

The Knights broke the shield wall and leapt into action. Calvus was amazed at how adept they were at fighting, but Sir Thredret was still lying on the ground. Calvus hacked through several Aurorans viciously to get to him, but he needn't have bothered. One nick from the Crusaders Sword and an Auroran would turn into a pile of ash. He managed to reach the Redguard, and his back was covered by Sir Geimund, who now had his claymore out and was swinging it in wide arcs.

"Get up man!" Calvus said as he pulled the Redguard up. "Can you fight?"

"I'm fine Crusader!" Thredret said boldly. "Never been better!"

With that he charged into battle like nothing had happened. Calvus joined him, and the pair cut a bloody swathe through many foes. Sir Gukimir and Sir Geimund were back to back with their claymores, bloody corpses of Aurorans surrounded them. Sir Areldur and Sir Brellin were fighting together, the High Elf standing tall and the Wood Elf crouched down. Areldur's longsword hacked off Daedra heads, while Brellin's shortsword cut open their stomachs. Sir Avita had fireballs flying from her fingers, she grabbed Aurorans and burnt their limbs and faces with one hand and hacked at them with her other hand that held her sword. Sir Lathon and Sir Carodus were side by side slaughtering their foes, and fought in conjunction. An Auroran's blow was blocked by Carodus' shield, and Lathon swiftly stabbed it in the heart.

The Fighters Guild were also valiant fighters. They were not strictly soldiers, they were brawlers and mercenaries, and their fighting style, though brutal and crude, was effective. Modryn Oreyn was in a fury, his red eyes gleamed as his spiked mace clubbed at many an Auroran head. Aranwen was standing back from the fight, firing accurate arrows into the fray. The other members, Orcs, Argonians, and many other races were using everything at their disposal, spells, spears, shields, swords, clubs, axes and their iron covered fists to dispose of their enemies.

After a few more minutes of this brutal fight, the Aurorans numbers started to thin, and one Auroran growled a retreat. The Daedra started to fall back across the bridge. Some of the eager combatants were about to charge after them, but Calvus intervened.

"HALT!" he shouted.

The Knights and Fighters Guild looked at him oddly, he was spoiling their fun after all.

"STENTUS! LEAD YOUR BOYS INTO BATTLE!" Calvus called across the battlefield.

The Imperial Commander nodded his head, and put on a silver plumed helmet. With a quick shout he lead claymore wielding troops across the bridge. The archers and battle mages lined up and started to support their fellow Legion with spells and arrows. Some Legion troops stayed in reserve, in case they were needed.

"Let the Legion have a chance!" Calvus joked to his Knights.

He now had a brief moment to rest and think. He looked up at he sky, and saw that it was now late afternoon. He had to get into Garlas Malatar before dark, or the battle would have to cease and Umaril would have a chance to summon more Daedra from Oblivions waters. Six of the two dozen Fighters Guild has been lost in the battle, which seemed small, but Calvus needed every man he could. He slung the Shield on his back, and grabbed the Mace from his belt.

"I'm going to battle." he said sincerely, "I will send a fireball into the sky when I want you to join."

He then ran after the Legion, who had taken the bridge and were now fighting on the Island itself. He pushed through the ranks, but after a few seconds the men felt his presence and stepped aside quickly, less they anger the Divine Crusader. Calvus found his way to the front line, and saw Stentus fighting with a silver warhammer.

"Stentus!" Calvus cried, " I need a foothold on this island! No retreat!"

"Understood!" Stentus replied as he drove his warhammers spike into an Auroran.

Calvus then started swinging the Mace and Sword, and at the sight of the two holy relics being wielded by the Divine Crusader, the Aurorans fought with less vigour. He smashed and sliced his way through so many Daedra he lost count, and momentarily retreated behind a line of Legion troops. He estimated that the Legion had taken about a third of the island and was about to raise his hand when Stentus raised his and sent a lightening bolt into the sky. Seconds later, arrows and javelins fell into the Aurorans ranks, killing many. The Legion troops then pressed forward and hacked through the wounded Daedra, until they controlled most of the island. The last few Daedra hastily clambered on top of the ruin, surrounded by a sea of Legion. Stentus was about to order a volley, but Calvus stayed his hand.

"I'll deal with this." he said to the Commander.

"I'm not about to argue with you!" Stentus replied.

Calvus climbed up onto the ruin. He saw a dozen scattered Daedra on top of the white structure, at least four were wounded with arrows. It was hard to decipher how Daedra felt through body language, but Calvus could _feel_ that they were petrified. And in the view of the troops surrounding the ruin, Calvus did this:

"You are abominations!" he proclaimed.

He charged at the nearest Auroran, and dealt a fatal blow with the Mace.

"You desecrated the Chapel of Dibella!"

He struck the next Auroran with both the Sword and the Mace. The result was not pretty.

"You killed innocent priests!"

He mercilessly killed two wounded Aurorans at the same time, one with the Sword, the other with the Mace.

"You are bastards!"

He killed another three, his body filled with rage.

"But you messed with the wrong gods!!" he proclaimed .

An Auroran charged at him with its axe, but Calvus blocked the blow with the Mace and stabbed through its chest with the Sword.

"Because they sent me!!"

The only surviving Daedra mage fired a spell at him, but Calvus jumped to the side and threw the Sword at it. The Sword stuck home and the Mage shared the same fate as many of its kin.

"And I will kill every one last of you!!"

Another Auroran fell to the Mace. Calvus strode past the ash pile that was the Mage and scooped up the Sword.

"Because I am the Divine Crusader!"

He bashed a wounded Auroran with the Mace, silencing its whimpering. The final Auroran was at the very back of the ruin, dangerously close to the sea. Its arm was limp, and it had no weapon.

"AND THIS IS TAMRIEL!!" Calvus roared.

He kicked the Daedra off the ruin, and watched as it tumbled into the sea. As the water closed over the golden creature, Calvus turned back and stood triumphantly in front of the Legion.

"VICTORY!!!!" he roared.

The Legion cheered and raised their weapons into the air. The island had been taken. Garlas Malatar was next.

***

The Knights and Fighters Guild sat down a few feet away from the bridge, watching the cheering from the Island.

"Bloody Legion…"Modryn Oreyn grumbled, "Didn't get any of the fun…"

"I think we did sir!" Aranwen replied. "We did fight quite a bit!"

"Wasn't enough. The Crusader didn't even give the signal!" Modryn continued. "What kind of leader-"

"The Crusader had a reason Dark Elf!" Sir Thredret argued. "Don't question what he does!"

"I'm just saying…" Modryn said grumpily.

Silence fell over the group of about thirty. But then the ground started to shake, hardly noticeable at first, but then violently like an earthquake.

" What the bloody hell was that?" Modryn shouted as he hastily stood up.

The cheering from the island stopped, as the men felt the tremors in the earth. Then all eyes turned, as from the hill east of the ruin, a tongue of fire erupted from the ground, sending boulders and dirt flying. A smoking crater was left at the hills summit, and from within it crawled out Aurorans. Hundreds of them. The size of the force was over three times the size of the force that had been on the island. The Knights and Fighters Guild looked at the army with shocked silence.

"Time to go!" Modryn said in an unusually high pitched voice.

"We are retreating Sir?" A Breton Fighters Guild member asked.

"Retreat? Don't be ridiculous, we're advancing in another direction!"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25- Turning Tides

Calvus looked across at the mainland in shock. He could see the Aurorans crawling out of the crater by the dozens. The morale built by the success of the battle just fought had been destroyed, for that army outnumbered his. It only took them about a minute to get into a rectangular formation that was facing south west. Facing towards Anvil.

"Umaril has changed his plan…" he said to himself. "Rather than kill me and infiltrate the chapels, he's just going to ignore me and take the chapels by force…"

"Crusader!" Stentus asked with concern in his voice, "Do you have any orders?"

Calvus climbed down from the Ayleid ruin and walked past the troops of the 101st Legion, they wordlessly stood aside, waiting for him to say something. Calvus reached the edge of the Island. He could see the figures of the Fighters Guild, Knights and the remaining Legion troops on the mainland running towards the island, putting a safe distance between them and the Auroran army. Calvus had to think, and fast.

_There are at least three hundred Daedra on the mainland, and we have already won against about one hundred. Garlas Malatar can't be that big…_

"Stentus!" he said loudly over his shoulder.

The Imperial Commander walked calmly to Calvus' side.

"Yes sir?"

"I need to you to fight those Aurorans. Keep them away from Anvil. Send a messenger to alert the town guard, Umaril _cannot _be allowed to take that city!"

"Crusader, I don't have enough men to win-"

Calvus turned around sharply and looked Stentus in the eyes.

"I don't need you to _win_ commander, I need you to _hold _them, is that clear?"

"Yessir! But if I may ask, what will you be doing?"

"I'm going to go and kill Umaril. If he dies, the Aurorans will have no master…"

"And you think that will stop them?"

"Yes I do! Now stop asking questions soldier and do your duty!"

"Yessir!"

Stentus saluted and turned to his troops.

"Men! You heard the Crusader, we need to stop those bastards from reaching Anvil! The Crusader won't be joining us, as he is going to be too busy putting holes in Umaril's corpse!"

The men looked up at Stentus, Calvus could feel their morale slowly building again.

"Lanil!" Stentus shouted.

A tall Altmer stood to attention and saluted.

"You are our fastest runner! Go to Anvil and rouse the guard!!"

"Yessir!" the High Elf cried and started running towards the city.

"The rest of you…we are going to fight here, and save the people of Anvil! If we do not, the other chapels will fall, and we will have failed. Now I don't care that our enemies are seven foot tall Daedra, we are Legion! And we are the best damn fighting force in Tamriel!! AM I RIGHT SOLDIERS?"

"AYE COMMANDER!" The Legion shouted in unison, raising their shields and swords high into the air.

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW CROSS THAT BRIDGE AND SHOW THOSE BASTARDS THAT THEY DON'T MESS WITH THE LEGION!" Stentus shouted.

The soldiers cheered and marched over the bridge. After a few minutes they were all on the mainland, and the Aurorans had noticed them. The Daedra formation turned and faced the Legion. Calvus smiled. His plan that he had cobbled together only a few minutes ago was now working. He looked around him. The Knights and the Fighters Guild were still on the island, looking expectantly at him. Only Aranwen looked concerned for Calvus. Calvus was concerned for himself as well. His arms ached from swinging the Sword and Mace, and his voice had started to hurt from giving such loud speeches. But he needed to give another one.

"Loyal Knights of the Nine! Men of the Fighters Guild…" he started.

The small group looked at him intently.

"Lets go kill that son of a bitch!" he growled.

With that he walked up to the large white marble door of the ruin, and put all of his weight against it. The door opened with a loud '_gdumph'_,and revealed a long staircase descending into a dim light blue light, reflecting off the white walls. He turned to look at the Knights and Fighters Guild behind him.

"And so into hell we march…" he said.

With that he walked into the ruin, and started to make his way down the staircase. When he reached the bottom, he stopped, and listened. He heard the clatter of metal boots on the stone steps behind him, and smiled. These people would follow him into the deepest dungeon if he asked them. Calvus started walking through the corridor of the Ayleid ruin, a corridor that lead into a small chamber. At the opposite end of the room stood four Aurorans, each holding golden halberds and a golden shield. They were over seven foot tall, and some parts of their body were not gold, but black. They stood stock still, but the glowing blue eyes told Calvus that these things were not statues. He strode forward.

"I take it you are Umaril's first line of defence?" he asked.

One of the Aurorans growled, and Calvus heard in his head.

"_We are his servants, we do as he commands and we will die for him. You shall not pass, mortal."_

"So that leaves me with two options. One: I turn around and tell the Legion fighting outside to stop, and we all go home and let Umaril take over the world. Or two: I stick a sword in your face."

Another Auroran roared loudly, which echoed throughout the small chamber.

"_WE ARE HIS SERVANTS, WE DO AS HE COMMANDS AND WE WILL DIE FOR HIM. YOU SHALL NOT PASS, MORTAL."_

"Well this conversation isn't going anywhere!" Calvus said loudly as he drew the Sword.

The Auroran guards charged.

***

The Daedra battle line approached the Legion fast, they were charging down the hill, tearing the earth up beneath their clawed feet.

"HOLD FAST BOYS!!" Stentus encouraged.

The Legion dug their heels into the dirt and raised their shields to protect their torsos. Archers fired arrows at the Aurorans formation, and though a few fell it did nothing to stop their advance. They came closer and closer until the soldiers could see their glowing blue eyes clearly.

"I hope the Crusader knows what he is doing…" Stentus said to himself.

_***_

Calvus ducked as the Halberd flew past his head. He tried to stab at the creature, but it blocked the blow with the golden shield. It attempted another blow, but Calvus parried with the Crusaders shield. A steel arrow then pierced the Aurorans neck, and as black blood spewed from the wound it staggered back. Calvus then saw an opening, and ran the creature through. It screamed and turned to ash like many of its brethren had before it. He turned and saw Aranwen holding her empty bow. She smiled at him in a way which told him 'you owe me', and loaded another arrow.

Sir Brellin and Sir Areldur were attacking a single Auroran guard, but none could find an opening to strike. Modryn Oreyn intervened, and broke the creature's shield with a single blow from his mace, and Brellin's shortsword found an opening. Sir Avita and Sir Lathon were fighting another guard, and after a few blows and spells the creature fell. The last guard retreated to the centre of the room, discarded its shield and held its halberd with both hands. Sir Gukimir stepped forward and attacked it with his claymore, as did Sir Geimund. But neither of the Nords could strike the guard, for it was too good with its weapon. The creature then did something unexpected, it jabbed the end of the halberd into the ground and swung around it, hitting Sir Geimund with its feet. The Nord fell to the floor, and was about to receive a clawed foot to his neck, but Sir Gukimir cut off the creature's leg with his claymore. The Auroran cried and fell to the floor in agony, and Sir Gukimir stomped on its head with his boot.

"How do you like having _your_ head crushed?" he said to it.

Calvus looked around, and because of the lack of things that were trying to cut off his head he made a decision.

"Lets keep moving, we're done here." he said.

His companions nodded and followed him down another corridor, into a small hall with two doors. Calvus pushed against them, but could not open them.

"Crusader! There is a switch here!" Sir Lathon pointed out to him.

"Then push it!" Calvus ordered.

Sir Lathon did so, making both the stone doors slide open, revealing a room full of Aurorans. They turned and looked at the open doors, and the men that stood behind them.

"CHARGE!!" Calvus commanded.

The Knights and Fighters Guild ran forwards, roaring in the faces of their enemies. They poured through the door like a dam had been broken. The men piled into the Aurorans, who were not organised in any formation, and so many fell before they could gather themselves together to fight against the attack. The room was wide enough for the whole force of men, mer and beasts to fight in a line. The ensuing melee was chaotic. Aurorans fell like wheat against Calvus' blade. His Knights fought just as hard, ducking, weaving or cutting through the Aurorans, slaying many. The Fighters Guild continued their mercenary technique, using dirty tactics and their bare hands to kill the Daedra. The battle was fierce, but Calvus feared the tide could turn any moment.

***

Stentus and the Legion braced themselves as the Daedra rushed towards them, but just as they were about to make contact, the Legion shoved the spikes of their shields into their opponents, then finishing them off with sword strokes. The next line of Daedra suffered the same fate, but the next line slowed, and started to surround the Legion. After a few minutes, the whole Legion force was surrounded, but their wall of steel held firm.

Stentus killed an Auroran with his sword, his silver warhammer was on his back. He let a soldier take his place in the wall, and retreated further into the body of fighting men, to contemplate the situation. He looked around and could see that the Legion were surrounded by a golden sea. He quietly muttered a prayer to Talos, and got back into the fight.

***

Calvus noticed a weakness in the Auroran line, and hacked his way through several Aurorans to get through. Sir Carodus and Sir Thredret followed him, managing to get behind the Aurorans. Some turned distracted, and they were swiftly stabbed in the back. Slowly, the Aurorans line became thinner and thinner, until they were engulfed by blades, and were no more.

There was a pile of golden bodies that spanned the hall. A further three fighters guild members had fallen in the battle, but Calvus knew that they had to keep going. Without saying a word, Calvus continued through the halls of Garlas Malatar, followed by his small army. They met little resistance, until they reached a large chamber. The room had only a few Welkynd stones, so the light was dim. Calvus could see a dark spherical object on top of a raised platform, but in front of it were several very angry looking Aurorans. The Knights and Fighters Guild started to combat the Aurorans, but Calvus looked at the dark object and felt that he _needed_ to destroy it.

Calvus sprinted though the mass of Knights and Aurorans fighting each other, ducking as an Auroran axe swiped overhead. He ran up a stone staircase, taking the steps three at a time, until he reached the top of the platform. Calvus reached the object, it looked like a black orb, floating a few feet off of the ground. It emanated an evil energy, which made Calvus shiver. Not wasting any time, he plunged the Sword into the object, which shattered into many pieces. Time slowed. The pieces of the orb slowed through the air, and a great wind started in the chamber. Calvus looked at the battle below him. The figures in it slowed, and faded into nothing. Silence. Calvus turned, and saw a door behind him slide open without a sound. He cautiously walked through it, into darkness.

***

Marsus opened his eyes, and saw a blur. He closed them again, and for a minute thought he was in bed, but then opened his eyes again and dismissed the thought. The blur slowly became focused, and Marsus had to blink several times before he could make out the colour of the room he was in. His body felt weak, and he felt light headed. His vision finally became clear, and looked up. He saw a stained glass window, depicting a fight between a Knight and some kind of monster. A figure then leaned over him. Marsus focused on it. He could make out a man, with a rough face and wearing a chain mail helm. He didn't realise until a few seconds later that the figure was translucent.

"Hello there, you bastard!" Sir Amiel boomed.

"**OH** **SHIT!!!**"

***

Calvus found himself in a huge chamber, before him was a shallow pool, filled with crystal clear water. There was a large space between the pool and a staircase that lead up onto a raised platform. Upon it was a throne. And on that throne sat a golden figure. It had wings, wings that had no feathers. The figure had a large Elven claymore across its lap, and looked at Calvus with blank evil eyes.

"_Man kana mitta abasel Umarile?_" Umaril asked.

'Who dares enter Umaril's forbidden hall?' was whispered in Calvus' mind.

"The Divine Crusader!!" Calvus said boldly.

"_Asma bala ni hilyat sino?_" Umaril said.

'By what power do you follow here?' Calvus heard.

"The power of the Gods and Pelinal Whitestrake!" Calvus replied.

"_Pelinal na vasha. Sa yando tye._"

'Pelinal is dead. So will you be.'

"But he killed you before he died! I intent to do the same!"

"_Heca!_"

'Begone!'

"No."

Umaril then stood up, and grasped his sword with his right hand.

"_Abagaianye Ehlnadaya! _" he roared.

'I do not fear your mortal Gods!'

"I do not fear you! Pelinal was not afraid of you!" Calvus challenged.

To his surprise Umaril laughed.

"_Rahtan Pelinale na anda!"_

'Pelinal's reach is long!'

"As is the reach of the Gods! That is why I am here!" Calvus challenged.

Umaril growled deeply.

"_As balangua, Ehlnada racuvar!"_

'By my power, the mortal Gods shall be cast down!'

"Not if I have to say anything about it!"

Umaril laughed once again.

"_Shanta, ehlno. Tyavoy balangua!" _

'Come, mortal. Taste my power!'

Umaril stepped down from his throne, and ran at Calvus at a great speed. Calvus readied the Shield. Umaril's sword struck it, and Calvus swiped at Umaril's leg. Umaril took the blow, an attempted another strike, which Calvus blocked. Sparks flew between the metal of their blades. The two opponents circled each other, and Umaril charged forward again, knocking Calvus to the ground. Umaril raised his sword, but Calvus rolled aside, Umaril's blade struck the white stone floor. Calvus retreated to the other side of the room, and Umaril laughed. He flung his arms out to the sides, and his golden wings flapped. He slowly rose into the air, and flew at Calvus like a dart. Calvus dodged aside, Umaril regained control, and floated at the top of the room.

"HOW DARE YOU! NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT YOU FLYING!" he screamed.

As his blood boiled, he felt something, like an energy that had suddenly opened up to him. He looked down, and saw the Crusader's relics glowing bright blue. His limbs felt vitalised, he felt invigorated.

"Looks likes the relics are angry as well!" he said triumphantly.

He leapt up into the air, to the top of the chamber, and floated next to a surprised Umaril.

"Hello!" he said as the Sword struck one of Umaril's wings.

Umaril screeched and flew back down to the bottom of the chamber. Adrenaline pumped through Calvus' veins, and he felt invincible. He swooped over Umaril, and swiped at him with his blade. Umaril ducked, and retreated back to his throne. Calvus slung the Shield on his back, and took the Mace from his belt. He threw it at Umaril, and the Mace Struck Umaril across the face, denting his armour and breaking the bones in his face. Calvus laughed, and sped towards Umaril, holding his sword like a lance. As he got near he thrust the Sword into Umaril's chest. But at the same time he felt a blinding pain and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he was looking right into Umaril's eyes. He was smiling. Calvus let go of the sword, and watched as Umaril fell to the ground. But then he looked down. Umaril's claymore had gone straight through him, piercing the Cuirass. Blood spewed forth from Calvus' wound. Calvus collapsed onto the ground, the Helm fell off his head and bounced down the white steps.

Calvus felt cold. Blood started to seep from his lips. As his vision darkened, he raised his hand into the air, and muttered.

"May...Talos...guide me…"

A white light momentarily flared up around him, and then Calvus felt his body go colder and colder. His vision went black.

***

Aranwen plunged the silver shortsword that Calvus had given her into the neck of an Auroran, and withdrew it. She looked around, and saw the others finishing of the other wounded Daedra. She looked for Calvus, but could not see him.

"Where is the Crusader?" she said aloud.

Sir Thredret looked around, and could not see him either.

"Did anyone see where the Crusader went?" he asked.

"I think I saw him go up the steps." Sir Avita replied.

"Follow me, we need to find him!" Sir Thredret said.

Aranwen followed the Knight up the steps, through a door and down a dark hall. They came out into a large chamber, with a shallow pool and a throne upon a raised platform. She looked into the pool. Blood had stained it. She saw the white stone steps covered in red blood and ran up them. Sir Thredret noticed the Helm of the Crusader at the bottom of the steps, and picked it up.

"Oh no…" he said.

Aranwen reached the top of the stairs and saw Calvus' limp body in a pool of blood, next to what looked like a very large Auroran.

"NO!" she screamed.

She knelt next to the body. Calvus' lips were blue, his skin was pale. He was dead. Aranwen burst into tears, and collapsed over the body of the man she loved, sobbing as she held it tightly.

"No…" she whimpered.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26- The Final Battle

Everything was dark. Calvus was cold, and he felt cold for what seemed like an eternity.

_Oh great I'm dead, _Calvus thought.

But after that thought, he felt slightly warmer. His body got warmer and warmer, until he felt…alive. The darkness around him was slowly dissipated by a bright light. Calvus was blinded by it, and had to close his eyes. After several seconds he opened them and looked down. He appeared to be lying on a bed of cotton wool. However a closer inspection revealed it was not cotton wool, but an extremely large cloud. Alarmed, Calvus looked around. After his brain registered the update of his situation, he said:

"Oh great, I'm lying on a cloud!"

He slowly got to his feet, and regained his balance. His head cleared, and he remembered what had just happened. He felt his chest, but could not find any break in the Crusaders Cuirass.

"Wait a minute, if I'm here, and I'm not dead then…"

He turned around.

Umaril was on the other side of the cloud. He looked a lot bigger than he did in the throne room, standing almost nine feet tall. In this spiritual plain, Calvus could see the Daedra that was within Umaril. His eyes were no longer gold, but a stark red, and they _burned. _His golden skin shone brightly, illuminating the part of the cloud around him in agolden glow.

"I will be the death of you today, Umaril the Unfeathered!" Calvus roared, all grogginess drained from his body.

Umaril roared in return, his mouth opened wide, revealing his sharp fangs. He raised his sword hand, and charged at Calvus. Calvus drew the Sword, and a blue glow emitted from the blade. The cloud was now coloured with golden and blue light. Calvus ran towards Umaril. As the opponents charged towards each other, they raised their blades. Umaril's came down first, and Calvus blocked it. Violet sparks flew from each sword, and as the two glows collided, they turned into the same colour light. With each strike of their blades, the cloud kept flashing from golden blue to violet, until it seemed the whole sky was afire with a terrible magical storm. Calvus and Umaril locked blades, lightening erupted from them and stuck the ground far below.

***

Emperor Uriel Septim VII looked up at the sky from the top of White Gold Tower. It looked as if a storm was brewing far up in the clouds, but not any normal storm. A collection of gold, blue and violet light flashed across the sky. A lightening bolt was visible for a second, then vanished, the rumbling came only a second after.

"Are they really fighting up there?" he asked.

"Not physically. They are in another dimension, some small part of Oblivion. But because they are so similar, that dimension and your sky, the lines between them are blurred and the effects of that great battle are seen in this world." the Prophet answered.

"But it is happening now?" Uriel asked.

"Yes."

" Well I have done all I can to aid him…"

"And very good aid it was too, My Lord." the Prophet said, "But as you cannot do anything more to help him, there is something I need to tell you that concerns your future…"

***

Calvus managed to push Umaril's blade back, and hit him in the chest with the Shield. Umaril staggered back, and Calvus took his chance. He aimed a strike at Umaril, but it was only a glancing blow. Umaril had a small cut in his leg, and black blood wept from it. In return, the half Daedra Ayleid gripped his sword in both hands and went into a frenzy against Calvus, long powerful blows had to be either dodged or blocked, and Calvus had just enough strength and stamina to do both. Each blow resulted in the violet sparks that engulfed them. After about a minute of this onslaught, Umaril grew tired, and his blows became weaker and more feeble. Calvus was tiring as well, as blocking Umaril's hard blows required much strength. The pair broke, retreating a few steps.

"Give up?" Calvus asked, out of breath.

Umaril said nothing, he just glared at Calvus. A drop of black blood fell from his leg and through the cloud. It started raining.

"First blood to me!" Calvus exclaimed, and charged.

Umaril raised his blade to parry Calvus' blow, Calvus leapt up into the air, but as he leapt he threw the Shield aside, and grabbed the Mace from his belt.

Umaril's sword managed to repel Calvus' blow from the Sword. But the Mace crashed into his side. Umaril cried out in pain and fell down. He lay on the ground, one hand clutching his wounded side, the other hand holding his sword. To Calvus surprise, he managed to get up again, still clutching his side.

"Won't go down eh?" Calvus mockingly asked, and struck with the Mace.

Umaril parried it weakly, but could not muster the strength to parry the next blow, which took his left arm off.

"That's isn't just a flesh wound!" Calvus roared, and stabbed Umaril through the chest.

Umaril fell to his knees with a roar. He had his head bowed, but then looked up at Calvus.

"For Pelinal!" Calvus cried, and swung his sword.

Umaril's head came clean off.

Calvus breathed heavily for a few seconds, and then let out a sigh of relief. He looked down, and saw the cloud beneath him start to break up. He then felt the sudden pull of gravity upon his body, and started falling through the clouds. Umaril's body and sword fell with him.

"Oh bloody hell, not again!" He shouted.

***

The battle outside Garlas Malatar suddenly stopped, Stentus and his Legion watched as each Auroran screamed, and faded into nothing.

"Blimey, he did it!" Stentus cried, "HE DID IT!!! THE CRUSADER HAS DONE IT LADS!!!"

The Legion cheered, but their cheer died down after they saw several figures come out of Garlas Malatar. It was Sir Gukimir, bearing the body of the Crusader. He was followed by the Knights and the remaining Fighters Guild. They got closer to the Legion, and stopped in front of Stentus. He bowed his head.

"And so passes a great leader, and bringer of justice…" he said solemnly.

He then turned to his Legion.

"HAIL OUR GLORIOUS DEAD!" he shouted.

"HAIL!!" They cried in unison, and all of them bowed their heads in respect.

***

Calvus slowly came round, and felt the sensation of cold stone on his body. He opened his eyes, and looked up. He saw Umaril staring at him.

"GAARRHHH!!" he cried, before he realised that it was just part of the stain glass window above him.

He looked around, and found himself in the crypt under the Priory. The Ghostly Knights were nowhere to be seen. Calvus looked down. The Crusader's Cuirass had no break in it, showing none of the damage Umaril's sword had done to it previously. He slowly got up, and checked that all his limbs were still there.

_How long have I been out? And how did I end up here? _he thought to himself.

He then heard footsteps coming towards the crypt door. Sir Thredret cautiously opened it, and saw Calvus standing up. Calvus would later reminisce about the absolutely priceless look on Sir Thredret's face.

"C-C-Crusader?" he said stunned. "Are you…alive?"

"Well last time I checked I was…" Calvus said slightly confused at Lathon's statement.

"But…you died…I saw your wound. Your blood was all over the place…I moved your brother to the next room, he could see you were dead as well…"

"Yeah…well, before I died, I cast the Blessing of Talos. I travelled to a spirit world, where I killed Umaril's Daedric soul. And I woke up here."

"Then the Gods have seen fit to bring you back!" Sir Thredret beamed, "I must tell the Knights, I need to tell everyone!"

"Wait, who's 'everyone'?" Calvus asked quickly.

"Well, the Legion of course! And there are others, citizens and lords, that have travelled far to come here. There are some journalists from the Black Horse Courier here as well!"

"Sir Thredret, you will listen to my following orders very carefully." Calvus stated. "Tell the Knights and Aranwen that I am not dead. But do not tell any of the others. You see…I had a life that I ran away from to become the Divine Crusader…I'd like to go back to it. Tell the others I did not die as such. Tell them the Gods have declared my task is done, and I can do no further good. But if…well lets be honest: _when_ Daedra threaten Tamriel again, the Divine Crusader will return.

"But Sir, that could be decades from now!"

"Let me finish Sir Thredret! Continue to recruit to the Order, expand our numbers. And when the time comes, the leader of the Order will take the Divine Crusaders place. Its just a suit of armour… Sir Thredret, I name you the leader of the Knights of the Nine in my absence. Your first duty is to make sure that my Brother is arrested for his crimes, he is too corrupt to be let free into the world.

"I will do that sir!"

"And I assure you Sir Thredret, if Tamriel is threatened like that ever again in my lifetime, I will return. Are your orders clear Sir Thredret?"

"Yes Commander!" Sir Thredret said with a smile and a salute.

Sir Thredret ran out of the Crypt. Calvus reflected on what he had just said, and felt that it was the right thing to do. He then heard a noise, and a blinding flash.

"HE'S ALIVE BOYS!!" Sir Amiel boomed.

"Damn, I was looking forward to his company!" Sir Berich roared.

"Hey, I don't give up that easily!" Calvus said.

The Ghostly Knights laughed.

"You have killed Umaril the Unfeathered, reclaimed the Crusaders relics and rebuilt our old order! You have achieved much Crusader, and it is thanks to you that we can now rest in peace…" Sir Amiel said with great joy.

"You forever have the gratitude of myself and the whole Order!" Sir Berich said.

Calvus received compliments from the other Knights, who all congratulated him on his achievements. But finally Sir Amiel said:

"It is now time for us to rest. Thank you…Calvus…"

The Knights slowly faded. Sir Amiels final word echoed around the chamber for a few seconds, then faded as well. The door then opened. A blur ran at Calvus, and knocked him to the ground. When he recovered, he saw Aranwen clinging to him tightly.

"_Don't you __**ever **__die on me again!!_" she said painfully through tears.

"I'm okay - seriously!"

"_I mean it!_"

Calvus wasn't about to argue with that. After a minute or two Aranwen calmed down, and let Calvus get up. He took the Helm off, and she kissed him passionately before he could say a word.

"Enough time for that later" he said after they broke away. "Can you get me some clothes from upstairs?"

"Okay then…" Aranwen said, slightly disappointed.

She disappeared through the crypt door. Calvus started to take off the Crusaders armour, and carefully placed it on the armour stand in the small alcove at the back of the crypt. He was in his woollen underclothes when Aranwen came back in with a blue silk shirt, trousers and shoes. As Calvus took his woollen shirt off, he noticed a large scar, right where Umaril's blade had pierced him. It was quite long, and darker than his other scars.

"One to add to the collection." he said as he put the silk shirt on, covering it completely.

Aranwen gave him a warm look to show her sympathy.

"Its okay, I'll get used to it." he said.

He was now dressed, and took Aranwen's hand. He reached the crypt door and turned. He looked at the Armour stand with all of the Crusader's relics upon it, and smiled. He went through the door and into the basement.

***

"Hello Brother." Marsus said to him.

Marsus was sitting on a chair, to which his hands were tied.

"They didn't want me to be in the same room with you. I didn't really want to share the room with a corpse either."

"You don't seem to be surprised to have seen me cheat death."

"I heard you talking. The rest was easy to deduce. You know, I didn't get half a bloody scare when I woke up. Those ghosts are terrifying."

"Aranwen, can you leave me alone with my brother for a second please?" Calvus asked, not breaking eye contact with his brother.

"Okay…" she said.

Once she left the room, Calvus spoke.

"So how did you survive the fire all those years ago?"

"Well, its quite simple. You remember that the cottage used to belong to a mage?"

"I thought you made that up…"

"It was the truth!" Marsus claimed. "There was a cupboard in the basement. It was enchanted to protect against fire. Its where he kept all of his potions and documents, in case of fire. I hid in it. You and father never knew about it. It was my secret place."

"And how did you know it would stop you burning to death?"

"I accidentally set it alight one night with a candle. It just extinguished. I even fired a flare spell at it, did nothing. It could not be set light to. That's how I survived. I waited until I could not hear the flames anymore, and I escaped, and wandered the country side. I thought you and Father were dead, I thought you had been killed by the bandits. A travelling Breton noble found me, and…adopted me. He took me to High Rock, where I became one of the family. I inherited the place when he died, along with his entire estate. I was quite wealthy. Then one day, a few weeks ago, I was reading the Black horse Courier, and I see all this talk of the Divine Crusader. But right at the back of the paper, I spy this article "Fighters Guild member missing.". It mentioned your name. It didn't take me long to figure out what you had done. I felt angry. I hired the Dark Brotherhood to kill you, then when they failed, I travelled here to do it myself, but not before bribing some bandits to save me the bother. You know the rest…"

Marsus bowed his head. Calvus sighed, and walked to the other side of the room and back again in thought.

"I still cannot forgive you, Marsus. Father wouldn't. You almost killed me, and my friends…and my love. Father would make you pay your debt to society. I will do the same."

"What?"

"You have hurt me. But worse than that, you must have performed the Night Mother ritual to recruit the Dark Brotherhood. The things you must have done to…get the required items. It makes me shudder. You are going to go to prison, until your debt, to me and all those you have hurt, is paid."

"What, brother! You have got me wrong, I have changed!" Marsus implored Calvus as he walked away.

Calvus stopped and turned his head slightly.

"You changed too late brother…" he said darkly, and exited the room.

***

He met Aranwen outside, and the pair walked quickly through the double doors into the fresh air. Calvus saw Sir Thredret standing on a crate, addressing many Legion soldiers, citizens from nearby Skingrad and a few journalists from the Black Horse courier. The rest of his Knights were in front of Thredret, almost like they were crowd control. The journalists had quills and parchment at the ready, waiting eagerly to hear what Sir Lathon had to say. Calvus and Aranwen slipped into the crowd unnoticed.

"People of Tamriel, I have some grave news. The Crusader is no longer with us." Sir Thredret started, "But, he is not dead. The Gods have seen fit to take him back, ready for when Tamriel is threatened once again. But the Crusader managed to destroy Umaril the Unfeathered utterly. The Chapels are safe, and Umaril will never bother them or us again. He had only a short time upon this world, but he has achieved much. And though he has been taken back by the Nine, I know he can hear us."

Sir Thredret's eyes twinkled as he looked in Calvus' direction, who smiled slightly.

"Hail the Divine Crusader!" Sir Thredret roared.

"HAIL THE DIVINE CRUSADER!!" The crowd replied.

The men and women started to applaud, and the journalists ran forwards to ask questions. Calvus looked through the crowd and saw an old man, dressed in familiar tan robes, of which the hood was up. The man approached him.

"Greeting Calvus." The Prophet said.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here!" Calvus said surprised.

"Well I do have important business to attend to, so I will be brief. I see you chose not to continue as…well you know. I just wondered why."

"I had a life I wanted to return too. Besides, I didn't want to be wearing that armour the rest of my life!"

"Indeed not. Well…that shows that though you have changed greatly since I first met you, you still have your modesty. You had no claim to fame, and yet there you were with one firmly in your hands, and you let go of that as well. Some would call you foolish. Not I. That just shows that your heart is still humble, no matter what you have been through. You have done well Calvus."

The Prophet smiled and started walking away from the crowd.

"Is he for real?" Aranwen asked.

"Yes he is." Calvus replied.

The Prophet disappeared into the trees. A few seconds later, Calvus and Aranwen saw a brief gold flash from the woodland, and they both knew that the Prophet was gone. As Calvus made his way through the crowd, no-one recognised him, or even gave him a second glance.

"You're common again!" Aranwen said teasingly.

"And it feels good…" Calvus said.

He took Aranwen to the stables, and there he found Tiber. The horse looked wide eyed at Calvus in surprise, then his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yes it is really me!" Calvus said laughing.

He climbed onto Tiber's back, and offered Aranwen a hand up. She took it and hoisted herself up behind Calvus.

"Just one thought." Calvus said just before he was about to kick his heels.

"What?"

"Can I have my sword back?"

Aranwen smiled, and handed it to him from behind him.

"I didn't use it that much. Your better with it than me…" she said meekly.

"Thank you." Calvus said, strapping it to his belt, "Now I feel safe!"

He kicked his heels against Tiber's flanks, and the horse took off from the stables, riding away from the Priory, the crowd, and everything else to do with the Divine Crusader.


	27. Epilogue

His Claim to Fame- Epilogue

Modryn Oreyn was buried in bookwork at his desk, when he heard the door open. He looked up from the dining table and saw Calvus and Aranwen. They stood sheepishly in front of him. Modryn got up silently, and walked over to them, and stood in front of Calvus.

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" He shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

"I had important business to attend to sir." Calvus replied.

Modryn fumed for a few seconds, and walked up and down a few paces.

"You leave, without a word at all, you just disappeared! Why?"

"It was _very important _business sir…"

Modryn went back to the table, and quickly flicked through a large tome.

"Calvus Tullinus, Journeymen, presumed deceased." He read aloud. "You're officially dead."

"Can't you officially make me not dead sir?" Calvus enquired.

Modryn paced around for a few moments in thought, and decided upon a suitable punishment.

"I should really expel you, but we need all the members we can get. If you start from the rank of Apprentice again, I will consider you being able to return."

"Sir!" Aranwen protested.

"Take it or leave it!" Modryn said.

Calvus thought for a few moments.

"I believe I'll take it Sir…" he replied.

"Good!" Modryn said gleefully. "And like all new apprentices, you will be put through gruelling training and physical tests to see if you are fit enough to fight!"

"I'm sure I'll do fine Sir."

"And where is your armour boy?"

"Ah…er…I lost it…sir."

Modryn tutted, but inside felt joy rising up in him.

"Well that means you will issued with standard issue Iron armour, you know, the really uncomfortable stuff that we give to raw recruits!"

For Modryn Oreyn, this was getting better and better.

"Anything else you have forgotten Calvus? Do you have any idea of what has happened recently? The Divine Crusader saving the world, and being taken back by the Gods! And I fought by his side, as Aranwen did too! You should have stayed with us Calvus, you could have learned something!"

"I can't say I did hear about that Sir…" Calvus said.

"Ah well, time to sign you up!" Modryn said with menacing enthusiasm. "Sign here."

He presented Calvus with the book for new members, and handed Calvus a quill. Calvus quickly signed his name.

"And I expect you to be up at five, _Apprentice, _for basic training! Is that clear soldier?"

"Yessir!" Calvus replied, saluting.

"Good, now bugger off!"

Calvus and Aranwen fled from Modryn's presence, and Modryn laughed. He then looked at Calvus' signature, then looked closer. He took a piece of scrap parchment tucked behind his armour, and compared the signatures.

"…No! Can't be!" he said, though for ever after, he always remembered that the 'C's looked very much similar.

***

High Chancellor Ocato knocked on the door of the Emperor's chamber.

"Come in." was the weary reply from behind the door.

"You sent for me My Lord?" Ocato enquired.

"Come in Chancellor."

Ocato did so, closing the door behind him.

"What I am about to tell you will stay in this room. Is that clear Chancellor?" Uriel Septim said.

"It is clear My Lord." Ocato replied.

"I was visited by a Prophet of the Nine a few days ago Chancellor. He told me something that I did not understand, and I wonder if you could help me decipher it?"

"Of course My Lord. What did he say?"

"He said to me: 'Look to the stars, for they will tell you what part you play in closing shut the Jaws of Oblivion.'"

Silence filled the room. Ocato thought for a moment, and took a breath.

"Maybe it is literal My Lord. Maybe he wants you to actually study the stars."

The Emperor smiled.

"Thank you for your advice Chancellor. You may go now."

"Very well My Lord." Ocato replied.

The High Elf left the room. After he closed the door, he walked down the corridor and thought to himself:

_Close shut the Jaws of Oblivion? What the hell does that mean?_

He dismissed the thought from his head, and walked back to his chambers.

***

Marsus was being dragged by two Imperial Prison guards, down a long dark corridor, past rows and rows of cells, most of then containing many men and women, either silent or proclaiming their innocence.

"Cells for the masses." One of the guards sneered. "Don't worry, you'll get one all by your lonesome!"

Marsus grunted in reply. The noises soon became far off and distant. He then felt a hard blow to his side as he was thrown onto the rough stone floor of the cell. The guards laughed and locked the door, then walked away. Marsus groaned and rolled on his back. The tiny window illuminated little of the cell, but Marsus could smell dampness and rats.

"Hey you! Yeah you. I wanna talk to ya!" a gruff voice called to him.

"What do you want?" Marsus asked rather annoyed.

"Whad'ya in 'ere for?" The voice belonged to a grizzled Nord in the opposite cell.

Marsus groaned and got to his feet. Crippled by the pain, he struggled to the cell door and leaned onto it. He could see the shape of the Nord, could see the light reflected in his eyes and the outline of a rough beard.

"Performing the Night Mother ritual and attempted murder."

"That don't soun' so bad!"

"It is when you attempt to murder your brother who just happens to be the Divine Crusader…" Marsus said bitterly.

"Ah…that is quite bad…how long ya in 'ere for?" the Nord chuckled.

"Fifteen years."

"I'm in for twenty. Killed my wife and her lover."

Marsus needed to ask, nor say no more. He retreated to a corner of the cell, and closed his eyes. He slowly drifted into sleep, and dreamed. He dreamed of a beautiful woman, so beautiful that he regretted dreaming of her, as he would not see another one for fifteen years. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not push the image of her from his mind. He gave up, and studied her in his dream. She wasn't doing anything, just standing still, looking right at him. She was wearing a white toga, a perfectly formed breast was visible, but Marsus paid no attention to it. He was too distracted by her face. It was possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever dreamed of, or even seen.

She had sparkling deep blue eyes, that gleamed with a wisdom that Marsus did not possess. Long flowing brown hair fell to her waist, and her smile made Marsus want to thrust his desires upon her, but he feared to, for he could feel a deeper power. He was not dreaming this, he was seeing this. This was real.

"Marsus." she said.

"How do you know my name? Am I dreaming of you?!" he replied aggressively.

"You are not dreaming. You are communicating." The woman said.

Her voice soothed Marsus, and was so relaxing and sensual that Marsus felt he needed to lie down.

"I am someone who should be familiar to you…" the woman continued. "I am the Goddess Dibella."

For a second Marsus was shocked, then recognised her from pictures he had seen from his childhood. Anger rose up in him again, but it was soothed by Dibella's voice.

"There is a reason I need to talk to you Marsus. We need you to escape this cell, you do not belong in here, you need to get out, get out within five years, or Tamriel will fall."

Marsus managed to shake off the spell of her voice, and set his anger upon her.

"Escape? That's all very well for you to say, but I'm surrounded by stone! I cannot get out of here! My estate and all my wealth has been claimed by the Empire. I have nothing! And you expect me to get out and save the world?! Talk to my brother, he's good at that sort of thing!"

"Your brother will not be able to fight this alone!" Dibella warned. "You will find a loose stone in the corner of your cell. You can get out if you choose too. But remember what I have said and think of it!"

She turned around, her eyes glaring, and Marsus could not help but look at her hips as she walked away.

_She really is the Goddess of desire… _he thought.

Marsus awoke with a groan of pain in his back, from lying on the cold stone floor, and looked around. It was dark, only moonlight was illuminating the cell now.

"You awake? Bloody 'ell, you've been asleep for almost a day! Your gruel 'as gone cold!" the grizzled Nord called to him.

"Shut up!" Marsus hissed.

He crawled across to the other side of the cell, ignoring the wooden bowl that had been placed in the cell while he was asleep. He knelt down and fiddled with the brick in the corner. It was loose. Marsus laughed to himself.

"I'm in business…" he murmured.

***

THE END.

***

Authors note: Wow. Its been almost a year since I started to write this fan fiction, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to everyone who favourited this story, or put it on their alert list, or just read it! Hell even if you clicked on the page by accident, thank you! I hope you have enjoyed this fan fiction, I certainly enjoyed writing it!

PS: Hands up who wants a sequel!


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